Rosewood
by Tukkus
Summary: A story with lots of OCs. Featuring Spoby, Haleb, Ezria, and Paily as well. And now... Emison!
1. Chapter 1

Rosewood OCs: This story will have a lot of OCs! The main plots will have to do with OCs and PLL characters, though. There will be a lot of sexual content, so if you're not comfortable with that, I would stop reading this story now! Enough warnings... Here is the first chapter of the story!

Chapter 1

"_Babe_, come on," Bret nagged, tugging his girlfriend's hand. "It'll be so much fun. Just you, me, and a romantic dinner. We're going to miss our reservation if we don't go now. It's at seven o' clock, and it's already six forty-five. Let's go, Lauren!"

The blonde chuckled as she walked down the stairs of her house. She pressed a kiss on her boyfriend's lips lovingly, and took both of his hands. He smiled at her. She ran a hand through his dark brown hair. He looked a lot like his best friend Noel Kahn, actually. Their faces were different, though. And she loved Bret way more than Noel.

"You know better than to rush a lady when she's getting ready," Lauren said, holding his hand as they walked outside to his car. "But thank you, sweetie. This is going to be amazing. We haven't had a night out, alone, in forever! This is just so refreshing."

He nodded his head, agreeing with his girlfriend completely. They drove to the restaurant together, barely making their reservation on time. Enjoying their night alone was easy. They caught up, talking about everything they could. After the dinner, Bret drove her back to her place.

"I had fun tonight, Laur," he said, holding both her hands in the doorway. "I've missed you so much." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Thanks for coming tonight. I'll see you at school tomorrow, babe!"

But she didn't want him to leave. Before he could go, she grabbed his hands and pulled him closer. He chuckled, sliding his lips down her neck. His hands ran down her petite waist. His nose was pressed against her long blonde hair, which smelled like lavender. He loved it.

"Stay tonight, Bret," she pleaded. "My parents are out."

He grinned, pulling back from her neck.

"I was hoping they would be," he said. "Wanna go upstairs?"

She winked at him and said, "Definitely."

They went up to Lauren's bedroom, clothes falling off as they made their way to her bedroom. She ran her hands down Bret's six pack, which had been created by all his work outs in football. He had been playing since he was in middle school. All Bret had to do to get his girlfriend naked was remove her panties, and that's what he did. He kicked his boxers off, and got Lauren's panties off, and then grabbed a condom from his wallet.

Lauren wrapped her legs around his hips. He smiled at her, his lips meeting hers for a short kiss before he pumped into her opening. He thrusted at a steady pace, and moans and cries of passion were let out. After a bit, they both managed to orgasm. She laid on his chest, pulling the lamp string so the lights went off. Cuddling up to Bret, she fell asleep, and he did, too.

* * *

At school, Lauren met up with her friends at the front. They talked a little bit, and then the first bell rang, so they headed their separate ways to class. She entered her English classroom, which was her first period. Her English teacher, Mr. Fitz, taught the lesson. When the bell rang, he called Aria Montgomery up so he could talk to her after class. All of the other students, including Lauren, left.

Bumping into her on her way out was a kid with messy brown hair. She dropped all her books, rolling her eyes as she kneeled on the floor to pick them up. The messy haired kid kneeled on the floor, too, murmuring apologies as he helped her pick them up. He handed them to her, and she was about to walk away without another word, but he stopped her.

"Wait, I'm really sorry," he mumbled. "I have a lot on my mind, and I just didn't see you there. I didn't mean to make you drop your books."

"It's okay," she said, a smile forming. "I know you didn't mean it. I'm Lauren... and don't we have chem together? We could walk to class, if you want."

"Sure," he said, walking next to her with a smile.

"I'm sorry, but I don't exactly know your name," she said, biting her lip. "I just remember seeing you in chem class the other day. Is it David?"

"It's okay, a lot of people forget my name," he said, sighing quietly. "No, but that's kind of close. It's not David, it's Devon."

"I like your name," she said, smiling. "You don't talk much in class."

"Well, there's not really any one to talk to, but thank you for the compliment," he said politely.

"You can talk to me, you know. I don't think I bite too hard," Lauren said, chuckling.

Stepping between them was Bret. He smiled at her, and kissed her passionately right in front of Devon. She pulled back quickly, not wanting to make the poor kid feel anymore awkward. He obviously wouldn't want to see a make out session right now.

"Bret, I've got to get to class," Lauren said.

"I know," he said, sighing. "I haven't seen you since last night! I just missed you, babe."

She smiled at him and said, "We can meet up after school. I'll talk to you after school. I love you, B."

"Love you, too," he said, and leaned down to peck her lips. "Bye, baby."

* * *

"Ay, Bret!" Noel exclaimed, fist bumping his best buddy. "What's up, dude? Get any action with Lauren last night when you were on the big date?"

"Hey Noel," Bret greeted. "Dude, stop being so blunt. But yeah, we hooked up last night after the dinner. Being a romantic is better than your jerk theory."

"Don't knock it until you try it," Noel said, shrugging. "So you finally hooked up with her again! It's been too long. This is awesome. Are you guys like at a peak in your relationship or what?"

"Last night, I thought we were, but today, she was walking to her second period class with some other guy," Bret said, sighing. "I think it was that dude... what's his name... I think it's Devon Summers. I'm not sure, though. There's a lot of messy haired kids at this school."

"Devon Summers?" Noel asked, laughing. "The guy is an outcast! You're really afraid he's got your woman hooked? You have been with Lauren for like a year now!"

"Our one year anniversary is coming up real soon," Bret said, smiling cutely. "I'm really happy. I want to make it big. I wanna surprise Lauren big time! I'm going to make her so happy. But... I guess I was just kinda jealous. She looked so happy with the other guy, and I feel like I haven't gotten her to smile in a while. So I'm gonna go all out on our anniversary and remind her why we're together!"

"Hey, you think she's hooking up with Summers?" Noel asked. "Scandalous, huh?"

"Dude, no! She's not like that," Bret said, shaking his head. "I know my girl. They're just friends, man. Don't imply that she's a slut, because she's like the greatest girl that I've ever met!"

"Jeez man, you're whipped!" Noel said, laughing at his buddy, earning him a glare. "Okay, whatever. You just keep being whipped."

"Maybe you should try being in a relationship, dude," Bret said, shaking his head. "It changes you. It makes you a better man. When you're in a long term relationship, it isn't all about hooking up with other people. Noel, man, I know you hook up with a lot of girls, but that's not a mature thing to do. When we first met, I was really boyish, but I've changed."

"Clearly..." Noel mumbled, fazed by his words. "What are you even trying to hint at?"

"Maybe you should try going for a relationship instead of a hook up!" Bret exclaimed. "Make your way into the dating pool instead of the 'I wanna fuck stuff' club, kay? It's better than you think. And don't go for Aria, please. Spencer Hastings has made it clear several times that she's in a relationship with some mystery guy."

"I'm over Aria, anyways!" Noel yelled. "I just wanted to hook up with her. She doesn't mean anything to me. Get over it, Bret, I don't wanna become whipped like you when I get into a relationship. I'm just looking for a chick who wants to have some casual sex!"

Bret sighed and said, "Think about it, at the least."

* * *

"Hello, my lovely charming baby," Lauren said, stepping up and kissing her boyfriend's lips chastely. "Sorry I didn't walk to class with you. That Devon guy bumped into me, and I wanted to walk him to class. He seems like a lonely guy."

"He seems kinda shady, you know?" Bret said, raising an eyebrow. "I wouldn't get too close with him. He could be a drug dealer or something."

"Really, B?" Lauren said, laughing a little as she took his hands. "I don't think so. He's a nice guy, you know! Contrary to all the things Noel has said about Devon Summers, he's a really funny and sweet guy."

"If he's so nice and funny, why don't you just marry him?" Bret jealously said.

"Because I have the best boyfriend in the world!" Lauren exclaimed, and wrapped her arms around him. "You and I should have another date night. Yesterday was perfect. I don't know if it was the dinner, or what happened afterwards when we went back to my place, but I had a great time."

He smiled and said, "I had so much fun, too. We've got to plan another date. I should take you out again some time this week. Hey, sorry that I've gotta jet, but I have to meet up with Noel for football practice. Love ya, babe."

"Love you, too," she said.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek gently.

"See you later!" he exclaimed.

* * *

Hours later...

Tossing the condom in the trash, Noel headed back to the bed. He laid down, and put his arm around the naked girl in his bed. He had forgotten her name, unfortunately. Was it something that started with a C or a K? He had forgotten, but whatever. He didn't give a fuck if she left. He had gotten the sex that he wanted.

"Wow," she said, swooning. "You're really good at this."

"Yeah, I try," he said, smiling. "Look, thanks for coming over, Katie, but I've got to get to work on some school project. See ya."

"Uh... My name's Caitlin," she snapped, shoving Noel away. "You used me!"

"Alright, Caitlin, I'm sorry," he half apologized. "Bye now."

She grabbed her things and stormed out of his house. He sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering out 'drama queen' as he did so. Hearing a knock on his door, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his clothes. Putting his boxers, jeans, and shirt back on, he made his way downstairs to open the door.

"Hey, B," he said, grinning. "What's up?"

"Uh... hey, Noel," Bret said, stepping into his house. "I just saw Caitlin Masters leaving your house! What's up with that?"

"We were just talking," Noel said, standing there uncomfortably.

"Why are you lying to me?" Bret demanded, looking up at Noel. "Did you seriously do it again? Flirt with her, bring her over, bang her, and then say goodbye? The poor girl! I thought you were done with this."

"I never said I was done with it, Bret!" Noel snapped. "All I agreed to was that I would think about it, and I'm not done thinking. I didn't say I would stop."

"Fine, whatever," Bret said, rolling his eyes. "You wanna chill?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll grab some movies," Noel said, getting up.

* * *

"I hate moving during the middle of the year."

The much older man chuckled and said, "Hey, I know it's tough, but it'll be okay. I'm gonna make a lot more money in my new job, sweetheart."

"I know, daddy, but I just hate this—I hate starting over," she complained. "I don't want to make new friends, meet new people, teachers, and all that. I'm going to miss my relationship, too! I don't want to do long distance. It always tears people apart."

"Nah, that's not always true, Bianca," he said, turning into the parking lot of the school. "Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. Besides, I never really liked Jock. If long distance tears you two apart, it wouldn't be the best thing. He's a bit of a bad kid."

"Hey, Jock has been the perfect boyfriend to me for two years!" Bianca defended. "He is a nice guy when you get to know him. I'm going to make sure our relationship doesn't fall apart. I'm going to call him all the time, Skype, Face Time, whatever. I just have to make sure this works. Anyways, I don't wanna be late for my first day. Bye, daddy. Love you!"

"All right, sweetie, I'll see you after school. Love you, too. Have fun!" he exclaimed.

Walking into the hallway of her new school Rosewood High, Bianca looked around. There were so many students everywhere! It felt do overwhelming to not know the people in her school. Back at her own school in Washington, she knew most of the students around her. She had a good life back there, and all her popularity and friends had been erased when she moved. She knew that she would only stay in touch with her best friend Kelsey. The other friends would only be connected with through social networks, which she actually wasn't too fond of.

"Need some help, new girl?"

She turned to her right, surprised by the voice. It was a very feminine looking girl. She had hazel eyes and a perfect smile. The people at this school were so attractive looking from what she had seen so far! She hoped the girl was being serious and wasn't teasing her for being the new girl.

"Yeah, yeah, actually, I do," Bianca said, looking up at the girl. "Do you know where room 34 is? Or maybe you know where E. Fitz's English classroom is?"

"Ezra?" she accidentally said. "Uh... I mean Mr. Fitz. Yeah, I do! I actually have English for first period, too. He's a really nice teacher. I'm Aria Montgomery, by the way. Maybe you would want to walk to English with me? I can help you out today if you need any assistance."

"Really?" Bianca said, her face lighting up. The Aria girl was so nice, and she already had a class with her. "That's great! I would love to walk with you. I'm Bianca Branson."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Aria said, still smiling. "Here, let me just see your schedule for a sec." Bianca handed her the schedule, and Aria scanned it. "Nice. We both have Mr. Haugwitz for fourth period history, so I'll see you there. I can help you around. I'll show you where your second period class is after English. Come on, Mr. Fitz will introduce you to the class."

* * *

Once the bell for lunch rang, Bret searched around for his girlfriend. Spotting the gorgeous blonde walking out of her fourth period classroom, the football player made his way towards her. He instantly pulled her in for a hug, kissing her cheek as he pulled away.

"Hey, baby," Bret said, taking both of her hands. "Do you know what this weekend is?"

He swung her hands around sweetly as he waited for her to respond.

"Hmm, not sure. Could it be Hanukkah? Christmas? No wait... Chinese New Year?" Lauren joked, smiling adorably.

"Hey, be serious," he said, chuckling. "You know. The big day."

"How could I forget our one year anniversary, Bret?" Lauren asked, laughing. "Of course I remember the day! I've only been waiting for it for god knows how long! I can't wait for this Saturday. It will be perfect if I'm with you. Do you remember that day last year?"

"Mhm," Bret hummed, pulling her in for a gentle kiss. As he pulled back, he said, "I think we were going to one of Noel's parties, and we both got bored, so we ditched. We sat by the lake, and talked for I don't even know how long... Then we kissed, and it was perfect. I asked you out right after we kissed."

"I don't know if it was the alcohol talking that night, but didn't we declare ourselves an item before our first date?" Lauren said, giggling. "We didn't even want to wait. We just went steady without the first date crap, and I'm glad we did."

"Me too," he said. "I'm glad I'm with you."

"And I'm glad I'm with you," she said.

* * *

"Hey, Bianca!" Aria exclaimed, running up to her new friend. "You know it's lunch time, right? Do you wanna come to the cafeteria and sit with me and my friends? They're a pretty cool bunch."

"Uh..."

"Oh, I get it if you have other friends to sit with," Aria said, nodding her head.

"No, it's not that," Bianca said, sighing. "It's just... do you really want me to sit with you? Aren't you worried your friends won't want me there?"

"No, they're not like that," Aria said, shaking her head. "My friend Hanna may be a bit blunt, but that's as bad as it gets. They're all so nice as long as you don't do anything to make them mad first. Now come on, let's go!"

The girls got their lunches and joined Aria's table. Sitting at the table were three girls and two extremely hot guys. One had his arm around a blonde, and the other was sitting without a girl.

"Hey, guys," Aria greeted, sliding down next to the guy who was alone. "Hey Noel. What's with the change of seating?"

"I don't wanna sit with my football buddies today, so I figured I would sit next to the prettiest girl in school," he flirted, his hand running up Aria's thigh. She flinched a little bit. "Besides, I'm avoiding Bret right now. He's being a dick about a whole bunch of stuff."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Aria said, pushing Noel's hand off of her thigh. "What about you, Sean?"

"I wanted to spend some time with my girl," Sean said, pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's cheek. "I saw her talking to some loser hacker kid, and I just wanted to make sure she ain't cheating or anything. Who's the new hottie?"

Hanna poked her boyfriend's cheek and said, "Shut up, babe! Caleb is just a friend, don't worry. And stop calling other girls hot, or I'll go screw Caleb just to make you unhappy."

Aria quickly stepped in and said, "This is Bianca, and she's new here."

"I am so fucking tired of Bret and his mushy gushy behavior over Lauren!" some guy cried, sitting down at the table. "I mean, honestly! We get it, bro, you've got a girlfriend, now shut the fuck up and fuck her or something 'cause nobody gives a fuck."

"And how many times did you use the word fuck in that sentence?" Bianca said, giggling.

"Yeah, it's kinda my th— Wait, who the fuck are you?" he asked.

"God Jaime, can't you be a bit polite?" a tan skinned girl said, laughing. "This is Aria's friend. She's new here. Bianca, was it?"

Bianca nodded her head and added, "Bianca Branson."

"Well, I'm Jaime Bell," he said, smiling for a split second before shoving Noel over and sitting next to him. "Hey Kahn, you getting sick of Brauren, too?"

Noel raised his eyebrows, confused.

"It's a couple name I made up for them," Jaime said, earning weird looks from everybody at the table. "Fine, don't go with it, whatever. Okay, well, those two love birds are sickening! I think I'm gonna start sitting here for a long while."

"Wow, it feels good to be known as second choice, Jay," the tan skinned girl spoke again, giggling adorably. "Anyways, shouldn't we all introduce ourselves to Bianca? I'm Emily Fields, and I like to swim."

"She's gay, too," Jaime said, snickering as he gave Emily a cute smile.

"Shut up, Jay!" she cried, punching him playfully. "Anyone else not want to be a rude ass jerk? Just introduce yourself, for Christ's sake! All you have to do is say your name."

"Fine, I'm Sean Ackard. I like to play football, and I'm pretty damn religious," Sean said, rolling his eyes and putting his arm back around Hanna.

"Hanna Marin!" a gorgeous blonde exclaimed. "I'm Sean's girlfriend... oh, and I love to shop! It's like my hobby. I wouldn't be afraid to tell you if your outfit is u-g-l-y. I'm blunt like that."

"She really, truly is not lying when she says she's blunt," a slender brunette spoke, looking up with a smile. "I'm Spencer Hastings, and I'm probably smarter than you."

"Wow," Bianca mumbled. "You guys sure are the nicest, huh, Aria?"

"Okay, they're purposely making themselves seem like assholes!" Aria cried, chuckling. "God guys, you're all just so social. Anything to say, Noel?"

"Not much. I'm Noel Kahn, I love parties, girls, football, I think Aria's a hottie, and I like sex," Noel said, grinning and glancing at Aria for her reaction.

"Oh gosh, Noel, seriously?" Aria said, shaking her head. She had a tiny smile.

"Would you rather have me lie?" Noel asked.

"Honestly, yes. You didn't have to say sex. This isn't honesty hour," Aria said, chuckling. "But I appreciate the compliment, you know. You're quite the hottie yourself. Anyways, Jaime, do you wanna say anything to Bianca?"

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Fuck no, is this the third grade where we sit in a circle and say one of our hobbies? I ain't playing this game, Ari. I already introduced myself. She knows my name."

Bianca smiled and said, "Hey, I love getting to know you all, but you don't have to make him say anything against his will."

"See? This chick is cooler than all of you fucking bitches," Jaime said, grinning.

A tall male approached the table. As he was approaching, he dropped something, and when he bent down to pick it up, his shirt slid up a little bit. Bianca just stared. She could see his incredible v-line, and a sexy tattoo on his hip. When he stood back up, she gazed into his deep blue eyes for a moment. God, he was so sexy! His smile was so adorable. She had never been so infatuated with a guy in like 3.5 seconds. She swallowed hard. How did she already have a crush on him?

"Hey, gorgeous."

Bianca was baffled! What the hell was going on? In her old school, hotties like him didn't come up to strangers and call them gorgeous. She couldn't stop staring at him. It was unbelievable how hot he was, and she couldn't help it. There were a lot of cute guys at this school, but something about him stuck with her for some reason. She licked her lips slowly. He called her gorgeous!

"Hey there, handsome!" Spencer Hastings exclaimed, pulling him in for a quick kiss as he sat down.

And now Bianca's dreams were crushed. What the hell? He didn't call her gorgeous, he was calling Spencer gorgeous, and probably because Spencer was his girlfriend. The new girl sunk back down in her seat. Jaime noticed something odd. He kept looking at Bianca, wondering why the hell she was so distracted when the new guy came around.

"Look, here are more love birds like Bret and Lauren!" Hanna exclaimed, giggling.

"The only difference is that these two aren't as fucking annoying as those two," Jaime said, shaking his head. "Honestly, they make me wanna fuckin' puke."

"Oh hey!" the hot blue eyed guy exclaimed, and this time, it was seriously towards Bianca. "I haven't seen you around campus before. You new here or what?"

"Y-yeah, I... I'm Bianca Branson," she said, biting her bottom lip hard.

"Cool. I'm Toby," he said, offering her a small smile.

"Tobes," Spencer said, wrapping her arms around him. "Do you want to walk with me?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed, instantly grabbing her hand and getting up.

The couple walked off to some other place, holding hands. Bianca swore her heart was breaking, and she didn't even know why. She had a hot boyfriend. But the thought of him living all the way in Washington was making her want Toby more and more. Of course, he just HAD to have a girlfriend?

"Where do you think they're going?" Bianca suddenly asked.

Jaime let out a laugh and said, "My guess is that they're hooking up in some janitor's closet or something."

Hanna half smiled and explained, "They're not big fans of PDA. They usually keep it locked up and away. But if you sneak up on them, you can catch them. Emily and I once snuck up on them in her bedroom. We caught them full on _making ou_t on her bed! And when I say making out, I mean making out. Like, he was shoving his tongue down her throat!"

"It was pretty weird to see them making out," Emily added. "They're normally such a sweet and soulful couple. Always calling each other cute things, saying I love you, they were always so chaste. Then when you see them giving each other tongue... It gets a little bit weird."

"Okay, I think I'm done asking about them," Bianca sad, trying to hide her sadness with a happy giggle.

"Em, did you do something new with your hair, baby?" Jaime joked.

"Uh..." Bianca started, surprised.

"He's trying to change the subject, Bianca," Emily said, smiling at Jaime. "Give the boy credit. I lubb you Jay, thanks for noticing!"

Bianca was picking up on something weird. Jaime and Emily seemed close. Like really close. Closer than everybody else. Could it have been something romantic between them? She didn't know why she was so disturbed by that. She was definitely still into Toby, even if he had a girlfriend. It was something about him that was so appealing!

When lunch finally ended, Bianca was quick to scurry away.

"Bianca, is something wrong?" Aria asked, standing up.

"Um, no, I just have to get to my fifth period class. It's like super far away," she said, biting her lip. "Well, thanks for showing me around and inviting me to sit with you at lunch. I guess your friends are actually pretty cool."

"No problem!" Aria exclaimed. "You find me any time if you need me! You're welcome to sit with us again tomorrow if you want. Any time you want to, actually. Well, since your class is far, you better get going. See you later."

Bianca started walking down the hallway.

"Hey! Is that you?"

She was pretty sure that voice belonged to Jaime Bell. She turned around and offered him a half smile.

"Oh, hey Jaime..." Bianca started slowly. "What's up?"

"Nothing, getting to class as the rest of the fuckers are," Jaime said, grinning as he walked next to her. "I've got the fucking dick Mr. Madigan. He's so annoying. Assigns loads of homework. It makes you just wanna throw up at the thought."

"That suck—" Bianca began, but then widened her eyes when she glanced at her schedule. "Crap..." She sighed and said, "Of course, I have Mr. Madigan for fifth period science."

"Damn, that's creepy!" Jaime cried. "Well, it sucks balls that you have him, but I'm pretty psyched that we've got a class together. I think I know why Aria brought you to our table. You're a cool bitch."

"Is that a compliment?" Bianca asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Coming from me, yeah it is," Jaime said, laughing.

"Well, Aria didn't know me when she invited me. She's just a really nice person. She walked up to me and helped me out, finding my classes and stuff, and then just invited me to sit with her at lunch after a class we have together," Bianca explained. "It's not me."

"Yeah, she's a hella nice girl. I know why Noel is so into her, but unfortunately, he's such a big dick, so Aria doesn't want him. She's got a boyfriend, anyways," Jaime said. "And I'm sure that Aria got this awesome vibe from you. I can feel your coolness just radiating off on me."

"Seriously?" Bianca said, laughing. "Considering what profane language I've heard from you so far, I feel flattered!"

"Well, you should feel that way."

'_Jaime Bell, please report to the office. Jaime Bell'_

"Ah, fuck, that's my name," he said, sighing. "I'll catch you later, lady."

She smiled as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

LIST OF OCs ENCOUNTERED SO FAR

Bret Louis: A handsome, funny, and kind football player who is dating Lauren Ross. He is best friends with Noel Kahn. He is in love with Lauren, and he will do anything to make her happy. All he wants is to be the best person he can be.

Devon Summers: A somewhat outcast who is often dissed by Noel Kahn. He doesn't have too many friends, but he's working on becoming friends with Lauren Ross. He is intelligent and kind, but is called degrading things by many.

Bianca Branson: The new girl who quickly befriends Aria Montgomery. She is sort of struggling with moving, especially since she won't see her boyfriend Jock, but she seems to start getting over it when she meets new friends. She is starting to become friends with Jaime Bell. She has a crush on Toby Cavanaugh, and is sort of jealous of Spencer Hastings for dating Toby.

Jock Goldsworthy: He is Bianca's current boyfriend. He is a bad boy who lives in Washington, which is Bianca's old hometown. Mr. Branson isn't too fond of him because he's a bad boy.

Jaime Bell: A funny, snarky guy who despises too much mush in a relationship. He is very good friends with Emily Fields, and curses in almost every sentence. He takes a friendly liking to Bianca Branson, thinking she's a really cool person within a day of knowing her.

Lauren Ross: A beautiful and nice girl. She is dating Bret Louis. She is very friendly and is open to making new friends, such as the commonly dissed outcast Devon Summers.

AND THANK YOU TO MY FRIEND WHO MADE SHIP NAMES! These are only for the current canon ships, but there will be more to come. Well, they're not all canon (some of them are just crushes), but with a current romantic status of some sort in a couple with a romantic storyline that I'm willing to reveal at this point:

Brauren- Bret Louis &amp; Lauren Ross (dating)

Tobianca- Toby Cavanaugh &amp; Bianca Branson (one sided right now)

Jaimily- Emily Fields &amp; Jaime Bell (this one is a friendship pairing, but I love their friendship!)

Brock- Jock Goldsworthy &amp; Bianca Branson (dating)

Spoby- Spencer Hastings &amp; Toby Cavanaugh (dating)

Ezria- Ezra Fitz &amp; Aria Montgomery (dating)

Jaige- Jack White &amp; Paige McCullers (dating)

Paily- Paige McCullers &amp; Emily Fields (very good friends, crushes)

Seanna- Sean Ackard &amp; Hanna Marin (dating)

Haleb- Hanna Marin &amp; Caleb Rivers (friends)

* * *

Chapter 2

"Hey," a fuzzy sounding voice said through the computer. "How are you doing in Pennsylvania, babe? Is everything going good so far?"

"Mhmm," Bianca hummed, smiling at the camera. "Uh, we're still settling in and stuff, but the new school is pretty nice. There's a lot of nice people."

"That's good," he said, nodding his head and smiling back at her. "Hopefully you didn't meet any cute boys that are tearing your feelings away from your feelings for me, right, babe?" He laughed quietly, thinking it was only a joke.

But Bianca remembered that it was true. Just the day before, she was fawning over the boy with the to die for smile: Toby Cavanaugh. There were a ton of handsome guys she met the day before—Jaime, Noel, Sean. But something about Toby had stuck with her. She was just stunned. The whole day, she couldn't stop thinking about how Spencer had him. She was jealous and she knew it, even though she had a hunky boyfriend waiting for her on her laptop screen.

"Of course not, Jock!" Bianca cried, rolling her eyes. "All I can think about is you, sweetie. That won't ever change, even if we are in different states. I want to be with you." She have him the most sincere smile she could when she was trying to get the thought of Toby out of her head.

He grinned at her and asked, "Since I won't get to touch you up close, do you maybe wanna have some fun now? My parents aren't home, and I miss you, and..."

"Oh, sure!" Bianca exclaimed all too gladly. "My parents are out, too."

"God, you're sexy when you do anything, baby," Jock said, letting out a groan. He started unbuckling his belt as soon as he said that. His pants were coming off, and he was making sexual noises through the camera. He looked to her, and raised his eyebrows. "Bianca, are you gonna undress or what?"

"Right, right, this is the first time I've had cyber... sex," she said, biting her lip.

She pulled her top over her head, and he was grinning when he saw her in her bra.

"Aw man, that's hot!" Jock exclaimed, pulling off his shirt. "I've been working out at the gym, babe. Working on my pack."

She stared at his abs for a moment through the camera. They were truly perfect, but she could only picture how much better Toby's abs would be. She only got one fucking glimpse at his v lines, and she started day dreaming. She could picture him naked right then... with his big package, rippling muscles, piercing blue eyes... It would be hot.

"Baby, it looks great," Bianca said, half smiling. "You look so hot, Jock."

"Thanks, babe. You wanna take that bra off before I fly to Pennsylvania to yank it off?" Jock asked, laughing.

She laughed a little and said, "You're horny, but I really wish you would come here and just do me in person, baby. If I could have you inside of me for real, I would die. I can only imagine your cock... I don't remember the last time I had you inside me. Right now, I would wanna just suck it real good!"

"Oh fuck, Bianca!" Jock cried, whipping his boxers off and revealing his cock. "Hell yes, oh, talk dirty to me again, you hottie."

"Why don't you talk dirty to me?" she asked.

"Oh, so you like that?" he said with a grin. "Sure, just for you. If I were there with you, I would run my fingertips along your clit and make you real wet, baby. You would be coming for me. Exploding all over the place. I would use my tongue and go real deep in you. I would wanna make you moan."

Bianca slipped off her panties.

"How many fingers, babe?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"As many as you want, just do it!" Jock cried.

She smirked at him, stroking her clit roughly with her own fingers. Jock started jerking off to the sight of his girlfriend. They were both moaning and sighing as they masturbated for each other on camera. She yanked her fingers out... because she heard the garage door opening.

"Fuck!" Bianca cried.

"Oh yeah, I would wanna fuck ya, baby!" Jock exclaimed.

"No Jock, not that!" Bianca cried, putting her clothes back on. "I'm sorry, I have to cut our fun short. I'm so sorry."

"What? Why are you dressing yourself again so soon?" Jock asked, frowning.

"My parents are home, Jock!" Bianca cried. "If they see me like this, they're gonna be so mad! They'll make us break up for sure. I have to go. I'll call you later, babe. Bye."

"Oh damn. Okay. Later. Call me if you wanna pick it up again," Jock said, ending the call.

She sighed, pulling all her clothes back on her body.

"Bianca? Are you in there?" Mr. Branson asked, walking upstairs. He opened her door and smiled at his daughter. "Hey, I had an early leave at work, so I'm back home! What's up? Having fun at home? How was school today? Better than yesterday?"

"It was good, and yeah," Bianca said, nodding her head. "At school, I made some more friends. At home, I Skyped Jock and we talked for a little while. He had baseball practice, so he had to call me back later, but I think it's all good. I still like him as much as I did before."

"Well, that's good to hear," Mr. Branson said, smiling. "I think I'll cook dinner tonight. Your mother will be so proud of me. I'll call you in a few hours to eat."

"Okay, Dad."

* * *

At school the next day, Bianca saw Jaime in the hallway and caught up to him. He turned around and smiled when he saw her. They continued to walk to science class together.

"Hey, little bitch," he greeted.

"Hi dick," she said, chuckling.

Running up to his side was Emily Fields. She looped her arms around his neck gleefully and started walking next to them. Bianca pursed her lips. They were always so flirty with each other, and she didn't know why, but it was bugging her. She didn't understand if Emily was dating him or not, and it was quite confusing to not know.

"Hello, Mister Hunk," Emily said, joining them in their walk. "Sorry I missed you at lunch, the swim team had a surprise meeting during lunch. Coach gave us a long lecture about our next meet. Took the whole time. We had to discuss who is swimming which distance and all that crap."

"Ah, I get it. You've got your sexy swimmer legs for a reason!" Jaime exclaimed, grinning.

"You are the sweetest, Bell," Emily said, giggling. "I'm gonna get to my class because I see my friend Paige, but I'll catch you after school. It was nice seeing you too, Bianca."

Bianca nodded her head. Jaime and her kept walking to class.

"What's up with you?" Jaime asked. "You're not being your loud and obnoxious self like you have been for the past two days. You're giving me no reasons to curse! Is something bugging you?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side, thinking about it. She could tell him, but he would probably think she liked him or something, which she didn't. She liked Toby Cavanaugh, and she knew it. She didn't want to get too into thinking about Toby, or else she wouldn't be able to focus in science class.

But she told him anyways.

"Are you and Emily a thing?" Bianca asked suddenly.

Jaime opened his mouth to speak, but then let out a long laugh instead.

"Jeez Bianca, you're clueless. I told you, she's gay," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I thought you were kidding..." she mumbled.

"Kidding about being gay?" Jaime asked, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, that's kinda rude, you know... Are you homophobic or something? 'Cause Em is one of my closest friends. I've known her for a really long time, and I accept her for who she is."

"No, I just thought you were kidding. Sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine," he said, stepping into class.

* * *

After school, Bianca headed out of the school. She saw Toby standing there, looking sexier than ever. It was her chance to go talk to him, especially since Spencer wasn't there to stop her from doing so. Before she could go up to him and subtly flirt her ass off, just what she didn't want to happen... happened. Spencer jumped into the picture, leaning in and kissing his lips softly. They intimately hugged, and his lips skinned against her cheek lovingly. Bianca hated watching it.

Luckily for her, Jaime walked over and broke up the intimate contact. It was her chance to at least be in his sight. She wanted him to see her. She did her make up as clean as she could to make sure he saw her, but it seemed that all he was noticing was Spencer.

"Bianca? Hey," Jaime said.

"I remember you!" Toby exclaimed. "Hey, a couple of us are going to the beach this weekend. You wanna join in? It'll be a blast."

"The beach?" Bianca questioned, even though her heart was racing at the sound of his voice. "I didn't know they had beaches in Pennsylvania."

"Yeah, well it's a little bit further than you expect. It's off at Myrtle Beach, which is the closest beach to this place," he explained, sliding his arm around Spencer's waist. "So are you in or what? Fitz is driving us there."

"Fitz? As in Ezra Fitz, the English teacher?" Bianca inquired.

Toby glanced at the other two before saying, "Yeah... Uh, he's actually a family friend of Aria's. He knows her dad really well, they're both teachers. He agreed to drive us there."

"Oh," Bianca said with a smile, believing him completely. "Sure! When should I be ready?"

"Saturday, like seven AM. We're leaving as early as possible so we can spend as much of the day as we can at the beach. Sunday morning, Fitz is driving us back to Pennsylvania," he explained the rest of the plan.

Excitement filled her. Toby had invited her to come along with them to the beach! She was so excited. She had to pick out the sexiest bikini possible to show off her body. Maybe she could get Toby to drool over her. Maybe then he would forget about Spencer.

* * *

"I wanna come to the beach with you guys, but my anniversary with Lauren is this Saturday!" Bret cried, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Oh god, Noel... I don't wanna miss either things. What am I gonna do?"

"You've just gotta make a choice, man," Noel said. "You could dump the chick and just meet some hot beach babes with me. We could get some hook up time. Or you can keep seeing your needy girlfriend."

"Thanks for a bias free opinion, buddy," Bret sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. "I'm in love with her, I'm not going to break up with her."

"Whipped," Noel said, sighing. "Why don't you just ask the bitch to come with us to the beach?"

"That's actually not a bad idea!" Bret exclaimed. "What's more romantic than a beach side dinner? It'll be perfect. I'm gonna make is super romantic."

"Wow, all right. But are you gonna spend the day with her or us?" Noel asked.

"Both!" Bret exclaimed. "Trust me, it'll all work out. Lauren and I can get through anything. That's why we have been together for a whole year already."

"Do you have any problems that DON'T relate to her?" Noel asked, groaning.

"Look, it's not my problem that I can keep a girlfriend while you fuck random girls every night!" Bret snapped.

"Jeez, I just banged Caitlin once. It's not like it even matters," Noel said, rolling his eyes. "I don't want a fucking girlfriend, man. If I wanted one, then I would have one."

"You're just mad because Aria is seeing somebody," Bret said, rolling his eyes.

"This isn't about Aria!" Noel yelled. "I don't give a damn about her. I don't even like her anymore. You name any girl who doesn't have a boyfriend, and I could get her."

"Really? Let's make a bet, then," Bret said, scoffing. "If you can get the girl of my choice to be your girlfriend for one month, I will break up with Lauren."

"You're willing to give up the so called love of your life?" Noel asked.

Bret rolled his eyes and said, "No, man. I'm just so confident that I'm gonna win."

"Well, what do you get if I lose?" Noel asked.

"You will stop having random hook ups with chicks," Bret said.

"Fine, I can do that. I'm Noel Kahn. Girls want me," Noel cockily said, chuckling. "Pick your bitch, bro. I'll have her wrapped under my arm like a baby."

"We'll see, Kahn," Bret said, smirking. "We'll see."

* * *

It was finally Saturday. The day of the big beach trip. After picking up their final passenger, which was Bianca, Ezra started driving towards Myrtle beach. It would be a long drive, but it would totally be worth it.

Arriving at the beach at about noon, which was lunch time, the gang got out of the van. Well, some of them were actually sleeping. Bianca watched jealously as Toby woke Spencer, who was sleeping on his chest, sweetly.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, his lips brushing against her cheek romantically. "We're here."

"Really?" she perked up, her eyes fluttering open. She looped her arms around Toby's neck and gave him a long kiss. "Thank you for being my pillow."

Suddenly, Jaime grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing, Bianca?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I don't know," she mumbled.

"I don't understand why you would want to watch them mindlessly flirt with each other for like sixty years," Jaime said, rolling his eyes. "Look, they've been together for a really long time, and they're in love, okay? Maybe you're not a mush fan, and neither am I, but you can't do this. Are you jealous? Do you like want a boyfriend?"

Bianca's eyes widened and said, "What? No! I was just standing here. I have no problem with them. And Jaime, I'm flattered, but I actually do have a boyfriend from my old home town."

Jaime rolled his eyes and said, "Wow, what the fuck. I wasn't suggesting that I would be your boyfriend. Conceited, much... Can't you just stop being so full of yourself?"

She felt embarrassed as Jaime stormed away from her.

"Did you just make Jaime Bell upset?" a guy with a pearly white smile asked, stepping up to Bianca. "I don't think we met before, but I was in the van with you. I'm Jack White. I'm Paige McCullers's boyfriend. Do you know Paige?"

"I know of her, but I don't know her personally," Bianca said, shrugging her shoulders. "All I know is that she's good friends with that Emily girl. Oh, and I'm Bianca Branson."

"Ah, cool to meet you. Well, everyone's going to get some food, and my own girlfriend is blowing me off for Emily, so you wanna be my lunch buddy?" Jack offered, grinning.

"Of course!" Bianca exclaimed. "Do you know where everyone else went, though?"

"The rest of them? Well, they all went to that seaside shack place. It actually has pretty good food. My dad and I used to come up to Myrtle Beach all the time when I was younger," Jack explained, grinning. "Come with me, I'll show you the way there."

She nodded her head and followed Jack to the seaside place.

"Tobes, everyone is already gone," Spencer said, pulling her lips back from his mouth. "You want to go eat?"

He nodded his head, and started to get up from the seat.

"Of course, as long as you promise that you'll let me feed you like a little baby," he whispered against her ear, biting it softly. She giggled loudly like a kid, and her hands trailed up his shirt. "Spence, I thought you were hungry..."

"I am," she whispered. "But I don't think one more moment would kill us, do you?"

He shook his head, and dragged his lips across her cheek until their lips were touching again.

* * *

"B, I don't understand why you would make our anniversary happen at a beach party with your friends!" Lauren cried, gripping onto her boyfriend's arm tightly. "This isn't what I had in mind..."

"I know, but I wanted to make it special. Noel invited me to come, and I didn't want to say no—" he began.

"Wait a second... You were willing to give up out anniversary for a beach party with your friends!?" Lauren cried, taking a step back from him. "Bret!"

"No, that's not true! I didn't want to give up our anniversary, and that's why we're here having it," Bret said. "I thought that a beach anniversary dinner would be super romantic, anyways. Come on Lauren."

"I know what really happened," Lauren said, glaring at him. "This is your fucking compromise. You didn't want to give up either things, so you tried to make a compromise. A beach party is just as important as our very first anniversary?"

"Babe, I... I know it was kinda stupid, but please, just look at me!" he cried, taking both of her hands. "I want to spend the day with you, not them."

"I can't look at you," she said, pulling her hands away. "I want to go home, Bret."

She looked like she was about to cry.

"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Bret asked, sighing. "We're still having our anniversary! The only difference is that we're on a super romantic beach instead of my crummy old house. This is better than the original plan, actually. If anything, you should be happier!"

"How can I be happier when I feel like you think your beach party is just as important as out anniversary?" Lauren demanded, tears falling from her eyes.

"That's not how I view this, Lauren," Bret said, staring at the floor.

"I don't know if I feel okay about this," she said, sighing. "I think I'm going to take a walk."

"Okay," he said, nodding his head. "That's fair. I'm going to go catch up with Noel. Laur... Call me if you need anything at all, okay?"

She nodded her head sadly and started to walk in the opposite direction.

* * *

Bret smashed his fist into the van, frustrated with himself. He was shocked to find Spencer and Toby making out inside. He opened the door and pushed the two apart.

"Why aren't you guys with everyone else?" Bret asked.

"We were having a moment," Spencer said, chuckling and getting off of Toby's lap. "I could ask you the same thing, Bret."

"I made a stupid mistake, and I came back here... 'cause I'm a real dick," Bret said, sighing. "Spencer, I hate to ruin your romance session, but I really need my friend right now. Noel is being all douchey, and I wanna talk to Toby alone."

"I'll let you guys have your bromance time," Spencer said, getting up. She kissed Toby's cheek and patted Bret's back. "I'm gonna go find the girls. Call me, Tobes."

He nodded his head happily, waving as she walked away.

"I don't know how you do it, man!" Bret cried.

"How I do what?" Toby asked.

"Keep a damn girlfriend like that!" He shouted. "You guys have like a flawless relationship. You guys never have any problems."

"We fight and have problems all the time, dude," Toby said, shaking his head. "We just always find a way to get to a conclusion. What's going on, B? Why are you suddenly all worked up? Did something happen between you and Lauren?"

"I fucked up, man!" Bret cried. "I fucked up with Lauren, and I think she's gonna break up with me! We're on this verge of breaking up right now."

"Sit down and tell me what happened," Toby said, scooting over. "You love her so much, and whatever happened, you can fix it because you guys are like soul mates. Nobody loves her or could ever love her more than you do, B!"

"I know," he said, nodding. "So... here's what happened..."

* * *

"What did you do to piss Jaime off so badly?" Noel asked Bianca. "He's seriously pissed right now. He's always an uptight bitch face, but it's like he has a pole in his ass right now. He's really upset."

"I don't know, I just acted a little stupid, okay?" Bianca snapped. "Noel, get away. The only person I want to talk to right now is Jack."

"Fine, be that way," Noel said, folding his arms and walking away.

"So, do you like tennis?" Jack asked, grinning. "I used to play back at a country club in Rosewood a lot, and I kinda wanna get back into it. Maybe you wanna join me at the club and play a couple rounds with me? It would be super fun. I've asked Paige, but she and Emily always have plans together."

"Tennis? I don't really know how to play, but maybe you can teach me some time," Bianca said, her voice sounding pretty damn flirtatious, but Jack didn't seem to mind. "You seem like you would be good at it. Are you good?"

"Well, I've picked up a couple of tennis moves over the years, not to brag or anything," Jack said, grinning. "I would love to teach you any time, though! Let's totally hang out when we get back to Rosewood. The country club is so nice, you'll love it. I know I do."

"That's really sweet of you," Bianca said, reaching over and squeezing his hands.

She started to lean closer to him, their lips almost meeting for a first kiss, but he rejected her. He shook his head and pushed her away.

"Bianca..." he started, sighing quietly. "Look, you're a great girl, and you're super fun to be around, but I love Paige. I'm committed to her. I just want to be friends with you. If you were thinking of us as anything more, then we shouldn't be... like this. If you still want to come to the country club as my friend, feel free to. I still want to have you there."

Although Jack was nice about it, she still felt rejected.

"You want me to go, don't you?" he asked, and she nodded. "I get it, it's kinda weird. But in my defense, I have a girlfriend."

"I have a boyfriend," she told him. "Jack, I'm sorry. I want to be friends with you, too. I just miss my boyfriend a lot. I don't know why I did that to you. I didn't mean to. I love my boyfriend back home a lot. Let's be friends."

"Yeah..." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I know Paige is all busy with Emily, but I should probably go hang with her now... She's my actual girlfriend."

She knew she had been rejected badly. Jack got up and walked away, wrapping his arms around Paige's waist by surprise. Emily seemed annoyed by it, and she left without saying goodbye. She went over to sit with Jaime, who was totally pissed and frustrated.

"What's got you all worked up, Jame?" she asked, putting her arm around him.

"Bianca," he responded, shaking his head. "I thought she was cool, but she's such a frustrating bitch! I don't think I've ever met somebody so conceited. She thinks every guy likes her, including me! She was crushing on Toby, who has a committed relationship, and then she accused me of asking her out, and then I just fucking saw her flirting with Jack! Paige and Spencer should go punch her in the guts for trying to steal their boyfriends."

"She's new around here, she probably doesn't realize that she isn't the queen at this school," Emily said, sighing.

"We don't have to keep talking about me, Em," Jaime said. "What's wrong with you? I know you, and since I do, I know you're upset right now."

"I think you know me too well, Bell," Emily joked, earning an unamused and sarcastic glare from him. "Okay, anyways, I really don't like Jack. He keeps swooping in and taking Paige away from me every time I want to talk to her, or when I'm in the middle of a conversation with her!"

"Well, he is her boyfriend," Jaime reasoned. "I know you wanna hang out with her and all because she's a swimmer, but you've got other friends, too. Aria, Hanna, and Spencer are always there for you if you need girl time. Let Paige be with her boy J."

Emily sighed and said, "But it's different with her! I just wanna be around her all the freaking time and it's driving me nuts! Jaime... I... I don't think it's the same as hanging out with the other girls."

"What are you saying, Emily?" Jaime asked, scratching his head. "Are you... uh... into her?"

Her face looked weak as she glanced upwards at him. It was a question that had a skeptical answer. She didn't know how to answer. Could it be true?

* * *

"Hey, you," the gorgeous blonde greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know I had to be a part of your posse to come to Myrtle Beach—I thought it was more of a public place, you know..."

"I wasn't being rude when asking you," Hanna said, scratching her head. "It was more of me just wondering what brought you here. Someone's on edge and all jumpy, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Hanna," he said, sighing. "A friend of mine wanted to come to the beach today, so we took a little trip together. Don't worry, I'll stay out of your way. I'm just gonna get my coffee and go."

"Wait, Caleb, don't go!" she called after him. "I didn't want you to go away. I'd rather have you stay with me. You wanna come hang out with us?"

"Your friends aren't my friends," he said almost coldly. "Plus, I don't think Sean would like that. I think he really stood his ground when he told me to back off of a girl I'm not even dating or flirting with."

"What? Sean said something to you, Caleb?" Hanna asked, raising her eyebrows. "I told him to relax and get with me being friends with other guys! I'm really sorry, okay? He's usually okay with me hanging out with guys like Bret and Noel."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know me. Those guys are his friends, he knows they won't steal you from him," Caleb explained. "Look Hanna, I got the message, you're taken. I wasn't planning on whisking you away from your boyfriend."

"I never accused you of that!" Hanna cried. "I promise to have a talk with Sean about this. Whatever he did, it's not okay. Relationships are about trust!"

"I know, but what does it matter?" Caleb asked. "You talking to your fucking boyfriend isn't going to change a thing. He already talked to me about you. He can't undo the past. I remember something about threatening to freaking cut my balls off if I take another step towards you. Why don't you tell your boyfriend to gain some confidence about your relationship because he clearly feels threatened by someone like me!"

"He can be an ass som—wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Hanna asked.

"It means that I never had a chance with you from the start, even if you were single," Caleb said, folding his arms. "Don't worry, I'm not looking for your pity. You know it's true. Before this gets awkward, I'm just gonna go meet up with my friend."

Hanna stood there, contemplating what to do as Caleb walked out of the building.

"Hey, babe!" Sean exclaimed, kissing her cheek gently. "What's up?"

And then she knew she was still thinking about Caleb while Sean was kissing her cheek, and she knew that was wrong of her. But then again, it was wrong of Sean to go behind her back and talk to Caleb that way, huh?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It's been a whole week since our anniversary, and she still hasn't said one word to me," Bret complained. "She could at least tell me where we stand! I don't even know if she's still my girlfriend, or if we're broken up. She owes me that." He paused for a moment and stared at the floor. "I shouldn't have ruined the plans and taken her to that beach get together. I've got to stop taking advice from you, Kahn."

Noel rolled his eyes and said, "She's so clingy and needy. Look at you, you're becoming all whipped and shit! If you guys are over, it's for the better. Hey, since your relationship with Lauren is pretty much over, is our bet off? Can I go back to banging hot chicks?"

"You need to gain some respect for women, and my relationship is not over!" Bret cried. "We're just going through a tough time. You know what? You're not a very helpful friend. All I'm saying is that when I first got into that argument with her, Toby was in the middle of basically giving Spencer tongue, and when I came around moping, he sent her off so that he could help me out! He's been a better friend to me! You're just telling me to end things with Lauren because you don't like us together."

"Well, then I'm sorry I've been a crappy friend, okay?" Noel harshly said. "I won't lie to ya, B, I'm jealous that you kept her for a whole year. I guess I'm just so bummed out because Aria doesn't see me as anything more than a friend, and that's all she'll ever see me as. I... I wish I knew who she was going out with."

"Hey, man, it's okay," Bret said, putting his arm around Noel. "I crushed on so many girls, and they all never liked me back, until I met Lauren. You've just gotta wait for the right girl to come around. And if Aria's the right girl, then you guys can find a way to be together. Don't force it if you guys don't have a good connection. Maybe she's happy with this other guy."

"But I wanna know who she's dating!" Noel cried. "I can find out what she sees in him. Maybe I can find out what I've gotta do to get a girl like her."

"I think you should take your mind off of Aria for a while, and not by having sex with random girls," Bret suggested. "I think you should try seeing another girl, and for real, as in a relationship. The bet may not be on because of my current bump with Lauren, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still try. There's a lot of girls who would actually want a relationship with you."

"No girl is as down to earth and perfect as Aria, though!" Noel cried.

"You never know until you get to know a girl," Bret said, patting his back. "Find out a little bit about a girl, and then ask her out. You'll be happy you did if that one date blossoms into a beautiful relationship. You might end up really caring about her."

"This isn't a fairytale, it's not going to happen," Noel said, sighing. "But, I haven't been on a normal date in a really long time, so when Aria finally agrees to go out with me, I need to make sure I'm not rusty at it!"

"Sure," Bret chuckled. "Whatever motivates you..."

* * *

"Hey, Bianca," a soft voice greeted. "You okay? I heard about what happened between Jack and you. I know it sucks, doesn't it?" He sat down next to her, causing her body to tense up.

"How'd you find out?" Bianca asked.

"He told all of the guys," Toby answered. "Don't worry, though, he's not going to tell Paige about it. I made sure. I didn't want you guys to have some kind of rivalry because of it." He stared at the floor and began, "I know it's hard, and it sucks ass, but you can get through it. It sucks to see the person you like with somebody else... somebody who's not you. Back when I first started liking Spencer, she had a boyfriend, and I was constantly feeling down about it. But, I waited, and when the time was right, I asked her out. The point is, you can't force feelings for somebody. You can just wait for the best. You never know... that person may end up liking you back."

Bianca felt her heart race. It didn't feel like Toby was talking about her mishap with Jack at the beach... it felt like he was talking about her feelings for him. She didn't want to wait for Spencer and him to break up, though! She knew she had been a horrible person to Jock, Toby, Jack, and even Jaime. However, she felt like things were different with Toby. Her attraction to Jack was so slight that she didn't even care when he rejected her. But with Toby, she always felt down when she saw him with Spencer.

"I hope my story helped you out," Toby said, standing up. "And remember, don't try to force Jack to break up with Paige. If it happens naturally, then there may be hope for you two. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm taking sides." His smile was so attractive. He just looked so flawless! "Don't be too down about it, Bianca," he continued. "You can talk to me if you need a shoulder at any time. But for now, I'm going to get going."

He raised his hand up to wave at her. She felt like that moment was the perfect one to make her move, but how? What if he didn't want her? But everything he said just felt like it applied to them! She felt like they were just having a moment right there! A real, romantic, beautiful moment...

He started to walk away, so Bianca panicked and called, "Toby!"

He looked back at her and said, "Yeah?"

She stepped forward with a smile on her face and leaned forward to kiss him, right on the lips.

* * *

"Sean, what did you say to Caleb the other day?" Hanna asked, scratching her head. "He was trying to avoid me, and... I just figured it had something to do with you. I know you had some kind of feud going on with him."

"Feud? That's a strong word, Hanna Banana," Sean said, shaking his head. "Look, I got a bit jealous that you were spending time with him. He's a bad boy, like a legitimate bad boy. I know he's trouble, I can feel it. I don't want you to get hurt, Hanna."

"I can choose my own friends, you know," she said, folding her arms. "Next time, let me handle my own life. I may have just lost a friend because of you! Our relationship is about trust. You have to trust me with other guys if you want this to work. I know it looks bad when I talk to other guys, but think of it the same as when I talk to one of your friends, like Noel, Bret, Toby, Jaime, and all of them."

"That's different. I know those guys, I know they won't make a move on you because they respect our friendship too much to do something like that," Sean said. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for the way I handled things with Caleb, but trust me, it's not you that I don't trust, it's him."

She didn't know why, but she smiled. Sean was a really great guy. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to Sean's lips, and hugged him after she pulled back.

"Not that I didn't love it, but what was that for?" Sean asked with a big grin on his face.

"That was for caring about me so much," Hanna said, and leaning forward to kiss him on the lips again. "I love you, Sean."

"I love you, too, Hanna," he said, smiling.

* * *

"Dude, lunch is almost over, where are you going now?" Bret asked, standing up.

"I just saw Aria walking," Noel said, running a hand through his hair. "Look Bret, I can't do this thing with her anymore where I keep running around and chasing her. I am gonna go up to her and be blunt like Hanna! I'm just gonna straight up ask her who she's seeing and if we ever have a shot. I need closure if I'm ever going to start moving on, and I also need to know if I'll ever have a chance with her."

"What if you embarrass yourself, Noel?" Bret asked.

"She already knows I like her, it can't get any worse," Noel said. "Don't try to stop me, because I'm doing this whether you want me to or not!"

"Okay, I won't stand in your way, man," Bret said, nodding his head with a sigh. "You're my best buddy, and I want you to be happy, so if getting this closure with Aria is what you need, then good luck. I hope this goes the way you want it to."

"Thanks, Louis," Noel said with a grin. "It means a lot to have your somewhat support."

Before he could lose Aria, Noel hurried off to follow her. He hid behind a bush when he saw Aria walking up to her friends to talk to them.

"Hey, Emily, I'm going to go see you-know-who right now," she said with a smile and a wink. "Don't wait up before class, okay? I'm going to spend the rest of lunch with him. We need some alone time to catch up. We've barely been able to see each other lately."

"Yeah, sure," Emily said, smiling. "I hope you two lovers have fun... but not too much fun, okay?"

Aria chuckled and shook her head sarcastically, "Oh god, Em. But don't worry, we won't have too much fun."

Noel then knew that she was going to see her boyfriend. He didn't understand why the guy she was seeing had to be such a big secret. Why were they sneaking around? Was he that big of a loser or something? He continued to secretly follow her. She walked into the hallways, which people weren't supposed to be in, but she had a hall pass somehow. Since he didn't have one himself, Noel had to sneak in without any teacher seeing him.

The weirdest part was that Aria was meeting up with her secret boyfriend in a classroom! He wondered how no teachers found out about them meeting up. Once Aria stepped into the classroom, he snuck up and was ready to peer through the window on the door. He was finally going to find out who Aria was dating! Who could this mystery boy possibly be?

"Hey, babe."

"Mmm, hi, Ezra."

'Holy fuck'.

That's what he thought when he saw Aria Montgomery leaning in to kiss none other than... _Mr. Fitz_!

* * *

Almost instantly, Toby had pushed Bianca off of him. He couldn't believe she had done that. He felt like it was his fault. Had he been giving her false signals when they talked? He didn't mean to mislead her into thinking he liked her. He thought she liked Jack!

"Bianca... I'm sorry... but is that how you feel about me?" he asked. "You like me like that?"

"I do, and you made me realize that I shouldn't be hiding it," she confessed. "I have a boyfriend back home, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I first got here, Toby. I know you have a girlfriend, but... I had to take my chance and tell you how I feel about you."

"No... no! I'm sorry, okay? I don't feel that way, and I don't do this whole cheating thing," he said, shaking his head. "Maybe you should start going after single guys. Jack and I both have girlfriends. And I wanna be friends with you, but that's it! I'm in love with Spencer."

"Holy fuck, what is going on here?"

"Eric!" Toby shouted. "What the hell are you doing here? This isn't any of your business, so I suggest you walk away right now."

"But I witnessed the whole thing," Eric said, stepping forward. "Shit will go down if Spencer finds out about this, you know."

"Nothing will happen," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't do anything wrong here. All I did was politely make it clear that I have a girlfriend. I didn't cheat on her!"

"Yeah, Cavanaugh, I saw. But it'll be hell for Bianca when Spencer finds out that somebody came around and tried to flirt with her boyfriend, huh?" Eric said, grinning.

"You don't have to tell her," Toby said, shaking his head. "Why don't you leave Bianca alone? I don't want them to have any girl drama, so please don't do this. I want Spencer to be happy, and this is not going to make her happy if she knows."

"I'll keep quiet for now," Eric said, shrugging his shoulders. "But, you're gonna make it up to me. "I'll figure out a favor, and whatever it is, you have to do it, okay?"

"Fine, sure, whatever," he said. "Can you just go away right now? I need to talk to her."

"Okay, okay, I'm out," Eric said, nodding and leaving.

"Who was that?" Bianca asked.

"Eric Peterson, he's just some guy who now knows about what happened," Toby said, sighing. "I didn't do this for you only, by the way. I don't want Spencer to be pissed off at everyone. When she's pissed at you, she'll be pissed at everybody."

"Is that the type of woman you really want?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, it is. You're not the type that I want, though," he said bitterly. "God, you just don't know when to stop, do you? Oh, and you're welcome, by the way. My girlfriend would have been kicking your ass by next period if I didn't get Eric to shut his mouth. But you don't care, do you? You're just gonna to try to kiss the next guy in sight! I didn't think you were all bad at first, but now I do. I hate to say it, but you're acting like a slut! You're not a slut, but you're acting like one."

With that, he stormed off.

* * *

"Need some help with that?"

Lauren turned around, a little surprised to see him standing there.

"If you're willing," she said, stepping back from the trunk of her car, where somebody had wedged a crowbar as a 'joke'.

"Wow, whoever did this should know that it's really not cool," he said, and then used as much strength as he could to yank the crowbar out of the trunk. "What's going on? Did you piss somebody off? You don't seem upset about this at all."

"I am, and I have an idea of who could of done this, but it's a little too broad for me to pick anyone exactly," Lauren said, sighing. "Thank you for getting it out, by the way."

"No problem. Who do you think did it?" Devon Summers asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And why?"

"The football players," she answered. "They've been giving me crap all day because they think I broke Bret's heart last week when I got upset with him for changing the plans of our anniversary dinner so he didn't have to miss his beach party."

"Well, that's his fault, not yours," he said. "I'd nail their asses to the ground, but I don't think I can." She chuckled slightly at his modesty. "So you broke up with Bret? I thought you guys were like the power couple of the school."

She shrugged and said, "I don't know where we stand. I'm mad at him, but I don't want things between us to be over. We've been together for a whole year. I really want things to work out for us, but the way he gave up our anniversary for a beach party makes me question how he values our relationship if he thinks partying is more important than us." She realized how this all sounded. "Devon... you don't have to sit here and listen to my girl drama, you know."

"But I want to," he said, sitting down on the sidewalk next to her. "What else would I be doing right now? I like talking to you. It makes me feel involved."

"Yeah, but when we talk, it doesn't always have to be about me," Lauren said, scratching her head. "Why don't we talk about you instead? Want to meet me for coffee in an hour?"

"I want to, but I can't," he said, staring at the road. "I don't have a ride there. I walk home and stuff. Thanks for the offer, though."

"That actually makes things easier!" Lauren exclaimed. "We can go right now, and I can drive you. Wanna come or what?"

Devon grinned and responded, "Of course."

* * *

"Dude, I saw her, and I'm not kidding!" Noel cried. "She was kissin' our English teacher... Mr. Fitz! I swear, Bret, they're dating. I... I just hate it so much. Why would she want that? To hide? I could have given her everything in a relationship. I can't take this anymore!"

"I should have stopped you from following Aria!" Bret said, shaking his head. "I'm a terrible friend from letting you get hurt like that, kid. I should have known that finding out who her boyfriend is would hurt you, no matter who it is. And I still can't believe she's seeing Mr. Fitz! Do you know how much trouble they'd get in if somebody found out?"

"If I tell Principal Hackett, then maybe they'll be forced to break up, and I'll have my shot with her!" Noel exclaimed, grinning.

"Noel, no," Bret said, shaking his head. "She's never gonna wanna be with you if she finds out that you're the reason her boyfriend's in jail. Maybe you should confront her about it and make sure you have this all right. What if they were practicing a play or something?"

"Play my ass!" Noel yelled. "She called him Ezra, he called her babe, and they kissed."

"Maybe it's a modern play where the main character happens to be named Ezra, which coincidentally is the same first name as Mr. Fitz's..."

"That is stupid, dude," Noel said, shaking his head. "I've gotta get over Aria! This calls for a major party where I can lay back and chill and just get over her. I can forget her with a few beers."

"No, come on! You don't want to go back to that lifestyle where you get drunk and have sex all the time!" Bret cried. "What happened to asking a girl out on a date?"

"That was to practice for Aria, but now I know I have no shot with her because she's dating a mature English teacher who is just too sophisticated for everyone," Noel groaned, folding his arms.

"Come on, Noel, you're better than this. Don't make more Caitlin incidents happen," Bret said, shaking his head.

"No, look at you! Stayed committed to Lauren for a year, and then had your heart ripped out by her!" Noel shouted. "Relationships suck and lead to heartbreak like this. This thing with Aria was just foreshadowing how terrible and awful relationships can be!"

"The key word there is _can_, dude," Bret said. "Sometimes they're really good, and they're really special. I know sometimes things with Lauren can get tough for me, but that doesn't replace all the good times we've had together. Maybe she'll still want to be with me, maybe she won't, but I still enjoyed the year we spent together. She gave me some really good times. We stayed up watching movies, had extremely fun dates, and I like—"

"Go work things out with her, man!" Noel shouted. "I need to find Aria and ask her about what she was doing with Mr. Fitz because that is illegal and wrong!"

"Okay, she's Aria Montgomery! She's not the type to be in that kind of scandalous relationship," he said. "We've known her since middle school, and she's always been the good girl who excels at English."

"Which makes sense, because she's dating an English teacher!" Noel said, connecting the dots in his head.

"Don't assume anything until she tells you," Bret warned. "I have to find Lauren and make things right between us! I'm going to re-create our anniversary date, and it'll be like our fight never happened!"

"Just give her some good sex and I'm sure she'll forgive ya," Noel said, shrugging.

"No, girls are more into cute stuff than sex stuff," Bret said.

"Whatever! Just get out of here!" Noel yelled, and shoved him away.

* * *

"Jaime, are you still mad at me?"

He turned towards the girl and said, "I don't know. Are you gonna fuckin' try to kiss me now, too? I heard about what you did to Jack and to Toby. What the hell is wrong with you? Both of those guys love their girlfriends to pieces!"

"I know, I was being stupid!" she cried. "Toby really made me realize what I was doing. I feel stupid. And I'm sorry I acted like a conceited bitch at the beach. I shouldn't have assumed that you wanted to go out with me. I have to remember that I have a boyfriend that is willing to do this long distance thing with me, so he must be committed. I'm not keeping my end of that deal if I keep on acting stupid like I have been for the past few days."

"You have been stupid," he said, "but it's okay. Just stop it, alright? I really appreciate your apology, by the way. I know I seem like a dick, but I do appreciate it."

"I'm glad you do," Bianca said, smiling at him. "I think you're a really funny, sweet guy, and I was scared that our friendship was going to be wrecked by the beach incident. I don't know how to do this! Back at my old school, I was always by my boyfriend, so when I thought a guy was flirting with me, I could just brush it off and remember that I had a boyfriend because he was always right by my side!"

"Yeah, well everybody knows long distance relationships suck. They're just really hard," Jaime said. "Look, Bianca, moving to a new place means new people, and it's not hard to believe that you're finding yourself attracted to other guys. But maybe you should remember your boyfriend's feelings here. If you can't keep yourself committed to him, mayb you should just break up with him before you hurt him."

"You think I should break up with my boyfriend?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, I do," Jaime responded, nodding his head. "You both deserve to not be tied down."

"I don't know if I should," she said, sighing. "I mean, I feel like it would be the right thing to do, but I don't like breaking up with people. I'm no good at relationships!"

"Do you want it to get messy if you actually cheat on him?" Jaime asked. "You're going to find yourself attracted to other guys for sure."

"I'll think about it," Bianca said, seriously pondering it.

* * *

"Aria, Aria, wait up!" Noel yelled, following after the tiny hazel eyed girl. She turned around with a bright smile on her face. It reminded Noel of why he didn't want to move on from her.

"Oh, hey there, Noel!" she exclaimed. "What's up?"

"This is serious," he said, looking into her eyes.

"Okay, but please don't ask me out again," she said, sighing. "I really like you, but only as a friend. I'm sorry. I know homecoming is really soon, but..."

"Yeah, I figured I don't have a chance with you anymore," he said, nodding. "But that's not what I'm here to talk to you about. I'm here to talk to you about your boyfriend."

"We're keeping our relationship on the down low right now," she explained. "We don't talk about who we're seeing to other people. I can't tell you who he is, sorry."

"You don't have to tell me who he is, Aria," Noel said, staring at the floor, "because I know who he is." Her eyes went wide. "I know you're seeing Mr. Fitz."

"What?" she choked.

"Don't you dare play dumb, Montgomery!" he cried. "I was in the hallway during lunch, and I saw you guys kiss and stuff... I heard him calling you babe. Don't try to deny it, because I know it's true. Tell me it's true. Just confirm that it is."

"Noel..." she mumbled.

"I know you probably don't want to talk to me about it," he said, sighing. "I was mad when I found out at first. I wondered how you could like somebody like him, but I get it. He's more of a man than I'll ever be, and I respect that. I just want you to know that I'm not gonna tell anybody. I kinda told Bret when I first found out, but I'll make sure it stays a secret."

Aria reached over without hesitation and hugged Noel.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much. You are a man, Noel. You may be immature sometimes, but you are every bit a man. I know I can't go out with you, but I don't deserve you. There is an amazing girl out there for you."

"Thanks, Aria," he said, smiling. "I hope your relationship goes well."

He felt like an idiot. He never spoke like that! He was disappointed and heartbroken about Aria, but he had accepted the fact that she was dating a real man. He wanted to move on, but how? He didn't think he could ever feel the emotions he felt for Aria on another girl.

* * *

Just as the first bell of the day rang, Toby located his girlfriend at school. They usually walked to class together in the morning. He was going to still walk with her, but he felt nervous after Bianca tried to kiss him. He felt like he had a secret to keep, and it wasn't just the worry that Eric was going to tell her... he was scared that he would cause girl drama to happen if she found out, and he didn't want that. He just wanted everything in their relationship to be peaceful.

"Hey there, beautiful," Toby greeted and pecked Spencer's lips briefly. "You ready to go?"

She nodded her head and reached for his hand. Their fingers laced together as they started to walk down the hallway and to Spencer's first period class.

"We should spend some time together tonight," Toby suggested as they kept walking. "You want to come over? We can have dinner at my loft and just get some good quality time in. It'll be fun, I swear."

"Mmm, sure," she agreed, nodding her head. "I have to study for my physics test first, but I can come over after, depending on how long my mom and dad let me stay. They don't want me staying over late at your place."

"Why? Do they think I'll do something like... _this_?" Toby asked suggestively, reaching over and placing both of his hands on her bottom.

She blushed a little and responded, "Yeah, exacrly like that, actually."

He grinned and cupped her cheeks before leaning in for a long kiss.

"Miss Hastings, Mister Cavanaugh, come on," Mr. Fitz said, shaking his head. "Plenty of time for this after school. Get to class. Spencer, come inside. Toby, get to your class."

They both blushed and waved at each other. Toby shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk off, but not to his class. He went to his locker and pulled out a rose from it. He had been planning this for a while. What had he been planning? To grandly ask Spencer to homecoming! It would be good practice when he would have to ask her to prom, which he was planning on going big for.

He returned to Mr. Fitz's class, and grinned when he walked back in. All eyes shifted away from the blackboard where Ezra was writing, and to Toby, who walked inside with his hands behind his back, which was where he was hiding the rose.

"Can I talk to Spencer Hastings?" he said, grinning.

"I'm sorry, but no, you can talk to her after class," Ezra said, crossing his arms. "I have a lesson to teach, Toby, and you should not be interrupting it."

"Mr. Fitz, I'm sorry, but I've gotta do this," Toby said, and pulled the rose out from behind his back. "Spencer Hastings, will you be my date to homecoming?"

Ezra actually smiled and said, "Well, I think I can let that slide by. Since I'm a nice guy, you can come on up here if you want, Spencer."

She smiled a big toothy smile before rushing out of her seat and hugging him tightly. Their lips met for a short kiss, but only a short one, knowing that the whole class was watching. But, it felt good, because all of them were cheering for them.

"So, is that a yes?" he asked, grinning.

"Of course, you idiot!" she exclaimed, and cupped his cheeks roughly before kissing him again.

"Okay, kudos to you, Cavanaugh," Ezra said, clapping. "I wrote you a pass to get to your class, but no more shenanigans, alright? By the way, when it comes to prom, you better get permission from me, because disrupting my class wasn't alright. I'm letting it go, though. Get to class, and Spencer, get back to your seat."

They both did as told.

"Alright, I know it was an unexpected scene, but class, we need to focus back on the lesson again," Ezra said, and continued to write on the board. "No more distractions."

"You two are adorable!" Hanna whisper-exclaimed. "He totally interrupted class to ask you to homecoming! Sean better ask me in an adorable way like that."

"Yeah, unless he gets jealous and thinks Caleb already asked you," Emily teased, grinning.

Aria stared at the floor. She actually felt jealous when watching Toby ask Spencer to homecoming. She wasn't jealous of their relationship entirely, even though they were extremely sweet with each other, but more jealous that Ezra couldn't do that for her. He was a great boyfriend, and she loved being with him, but she hated that they had to sneak around. She wanted Ezra to unexpectedly ask her to homecoming in front of everybody like Toby did.

She wanted to be able to take Ezra as her date, and slow dance with him in front of everybody. She wanted to be able to kiss him in the hallways with everybody watching, and have people cheer for them when he asked her to homecoming. She had no problem with who he was, but more of a problem with how secret their relationship was. Everybody always loved those forbidden romance stories, but actually being in one, Aria hated it. It felt like relationship isolation. She saw all the other couples publicly having fun, but if she wanted to have fun with her boyfriend, they had to hide inside of his apartment, or meet up secretly between classes.

The bell rang, and Ezra said aloud to the class, "Finish the reading assignment, it's due tomorrow. And Miss Montgomery, would you mind staying after class? I need to talk to you about that essay you turned in last week."

"We'll catch up with you later, Ar," Emily said as they all started to leave.

As they walked away, Aria heard Hanna exclaiming to Spencer, "Toby is just so sweet! I can't believe he asked you like that!"

She sighed and closed the door of the classroom, and stood near him.

"So, do you want to come over to my apartment tonight and finish that movie we started last weekend?" Ezra asked. "It sucks your dad called in the middle and messed it up, because it was a really good movie. Are you in or what?"

"Sure," she responded, nodding her head. "I'll see you tonight."

She remembered watching that movie with him. If her relationship wasn't a secret, she wouldn't have had to lie to her dad that night, and could have convinced him to let her stay. Everything about their relationship's secrecy was starting to big her, and she didn't understand why it was so sudden!

"Aria, is everything okay?" Ezra asked, leaning back. "Do you want to talk to me about whatever's bugging you? Because, I know you, and I know something's bothering you right now. I just want to let you know that I'm here for you if you want to talk about it."

"Okay, well, here's the thing," Aria started to confess. "I don't like hiding our relationship from everyone. Spencer and Toby's relationship is so open and they can do things that a public couple can do. I want that, I want to be able to see you in public! I want you to be able to ask me to homecoming like he did!"

"That's out of my hands, babe," he said, sighing. He cupped her cheeks and continued, "Look, sweetheart, you know I would do anything to let us have it that way. I want to be able to be your boyfriend in public, but what can we do? We can't do anything about it! I'm your teacher! No one is going to cheer and root for us like they did for Spencer and Toby. You know I want to take you to homecoming, but I can't."

"I know we can't do anything about it, and I know it's not either of our faults that we can't see each other in public," she said, sighing.

"Do you not want this?" Ezra asked, frowning. "I understand if you want to end things... I mean, you're a high school girl, and you deserve to be with a high school guy who can see you in public."

"But I don't want a high school guy, I want a real man... like you," she said, smiling and pecking his lips gently. "Ezra, I love you, and I want to be with you. It's just... when are we going to be able to act like a normal couple?"

"Well, I am going to apply for a job at Hollis College soon, Aria," he said, smiling. "If I get the job, I won't be your teacher anymore, and we can tell your parents about us... and then I can hopefully take you to prom, and be your public boyfriend. We can finally be us in the real world."

Aria smiled and said, "I want that."

"So do I."

She knew there was no way she could have Ezra _and_ be able to date him publicly at the moment, so she just agreed that she could handle it. Truth was, she was so impatient. She needed him to get the job in Hollis as soon as he could, because she couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

"I don't get what the problem is," Paige said, scratching her head. "You seem to know all the world history material really well... like better than I do. I think you should be the one helping me study at this point! Why'd you call me here?"

"Uh, just to get some review in before the test," Emily lied, scratching her head.

"You're flawless at this, so I know you didn't need me to come over to help you," Paige said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Emily, why did you really call me over?"

She shrugged and responded, "I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to be here with me. I like spending time with you."

"I like spending time with you, too," Paige said, smiling. "So, can we stop the studying and do something more fun like watching a movie or something?"

"Sure," Emily said, smiling back at her.

Emily went up to her bedroom to grab a movie for them to watch. She rushed downstairs.

"This movie is totally gr—" she started, but was cut off by Paige stepping forward and roughly colliding her lips with Emily's. Both girls were startled, but neither of them denied it. They both knew the tension had been building up ever since they started hanging out, and so they both wanted this.

Pulling back, Paige whispered, "I know you didn't call me here just because you wanted to hang out as friends."

And Emily knew she didn't. She wanted Paige badly. So badly! It had become an intense attraction for her, and had even developed into a crush.

"Wh-what is this?" Emily asked, trembling as Paige cupped her cheeks sweetly with a soft smile. She wanted to smile back, but she was so confused!

Paige was about to answer, but her cell phone buzzed first. She reached over and grabbed it from the table, frowning as she read the text.

"It's Jack," she said, sighing. "He wants me to come over. Emily, you can't tell anybody about what happened today. It has to be our little secret."

Emily didn't even say anything before Paige collected her school books and rushed out of her house. The poor Em couldn't help but feel hurt inside. Paige was going to be with her real partner... Jack! She reminded herself that what happened was probably a pity kiss. Jack and Paige were truly together, and they were happy. Paige didn't like her like that. She was probably really straight!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So, you're having your getting over Aria party after all, huh?" Bret asked, approaching Noel, who was sipping a light weighted alcoholic drink from his red cup with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, 'cause I get it, she's got herself a real manly teacher boyfriend," Noel said, folding his arms. "But trust me, this is helping me get over her. I don't even care about her anymore, it was just a stupid short term crush. In fact, I invited her here! She's gonna come to my party, and I won't even care. We're always gonna be just friends."

"Don't know if I believe you're over her, but kudos to you, man!" Bret exclaimed. "You didn't invite Lauren, did you? I think I got her message... she hasn't spoken to me in days. I think it's pretty clear that we're over. I don't want to wait around to get over her. I want to jump right back into a relationship. I want to meet a girl tonight!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have sex tonight," Noel said, grinning widely. "I'll meet a cutie, get her drunk, and then take her up to my bedroom when everybody leaves. I've gotten real good at this, so if you want me to hook you up with some babes, I can arrange for that to happen!"

"No way, I don't just want sex!" Bret cried. "I think the only way for me to move on from my own ex is to start a new relationship. I know people say you can't just jump in after a break up, but I think meeting somebody new is going to ma—" his eyes widened when a stunning brunette walked up to him. "Hi there..."

"Hey," she greeted quietly. "I was just wondering where the bathroom is. Someone spilled a drink on me, and I kind of need to clean myself up."

'Walk her there,' Noel mouthed, pointing to his cabin.

"Y-yeah, I know where it is," Bret said, smiling. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

Noel grinned at his work. He had just gotten Bret a potential girl.

* * *

"Do we really have to party tonight, Sean?" Hanna asked, sighing with a soft smile. "I was thinking we could hang out here instead tonight and watch some movies."

"That sounds better than a party," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "You wanna just chill here instead, Hanna Banana?"

"Yeah, but maybe we should swing by the party for like five minutes," Hanna suggested. "Aria just kind of gave Noel the final rejection, and this party is apparently his party to get over her. You're his good friend, and I think we should both be there for him at a time like this."

"I know, I want to, but I can't help but feel like all he's gonna do is get drunk and then hook up with some chick like she means nothing to him," Sean said, sighing. "I really want Noel to find a steady girlfriend. He deserves happiness since Aria won't ever go out with him. He's liked her for the longest time."

"She's got a boyfriend, though," Hanna reminded. "So, are we going or what?"

Sean nodded his head and took her hand. They both got into his car and drove over to the Kahn cabin. The two of them walked hand in hand to meet up with Noel, who was still standing there alone after Bret left with his new girl.

"Hey there, Kahn," Sean greeted. "You doing okay, man?"

"Yeah, never better!" Noel exclaimed. "Sean Ackard, my man, I'm glad you could make it tonight, brother."

"Mhm, Hanna and I were determined to make it tonight," he said.

"Is that Aria?" Hanna asked, her eyes widening. "Noel, I don't mean to be rude, but why would you invite her to a party about getting over her?"

"Well, it gives me closure to see her here, you know," he said, sighing. "It tells me that I'm truly done with her, and I can be civil with her. I can be in the same room, and I can be friends with her and talk to her. In fact, I'm gonna call her over here. Hey Montgomery, get your ass over here!"

She smiled, waved, and joined the three others.

"Hey there, Noel," she said quietly. "It looks like a great party."

"Wow, yeah, thank you," he said, scratching his head. "I just wanted to have some fun. Uh, you seem lonely. What's up with that?"

"Well, I was looking for Spencer, but I can't seem to find her," Aria explained. "She told me she was going to be here with Toby tonight, but I've checked everywhere, and she's not in any of these places!"

"Yeah, I don't think she's here yet, actually," Noel said, grinning.

"I'm thinking the same thing," Aria said, and started to walk away.

"Wait, Aria, I'm coming with you!" Hanna exclaimed. "Sean, I'll meet up with you in a little bit. Text me if you need me, and we can get back and have our alone time later tonight." She popped onto her tip toes and pecked Sean's cheek.

"Later, babe."

When the two girls started to walk away, Aria asked, "Why'd you leave Sean?"

"I figured he needed some guy time with Noel," Hanna said, but earned a confused look from her friend. "Aria, you don't get it? He's throwing this party because of you! You didn't know that? I thought it was obvious. Everyone seems to know but you!"

"You're lying to me, Hanna!" Aria cried. "There's no way this party is about me. Things were kind of rough at first with Noel when he found out about me dating Ezra, but he promised to keep it a secret, and he seemed fine with it. I thought he got over me. I didn't think it was some big rejection!"

"He's hurting, and he's trying to get over you with this party," Hanna explained. "He's trying to be happy for you, but he still isn't. This is his way of getting closure. He only invited you because he wanted that closure—to know that he could be civilized with you and be friends with you."

"Well, I'm happy for him, then," Aria said. "He deserves somebody who could give him happiness, and I'm not that girl. I would have ended up hurting him. We never would have worked."

"You never know until you give it a try..." Hanna reminded.

"I don't want to give it a try!" Aria cried. "Are you kidding me? I have the perfect relationship with Ezra. We're happier than ever. Boys in high school don't know how to treat a girl, but Ezra's mature. He's grown from his mistakes because he's not a high schooler anymore. He's a man, and that's what I've been wanting."

As Hanna was about to respond, Spencer walked up to them, waving her hand as she did.

"Hey, guys," she said. "I don't even know why I'm here. I'm never in the mood for these wild parties, but Toby insisted. He wanted to congratulate Noel for that whole getting over Aria thing."

"What!?" Aria cried. "So, I guess it's true, and I'm the only one that didn't know what this party was about. I thought it was just classic Noel to throw big parties and birthday bashes all the time. I didn't know I was hurting him so badly, and it was never what I meant to do."

"Come on, the poor kid has liked you for a whole year now!" Spencer cried, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe you haven't noticed how much he's into you throughout all this time! He would die to be your boyfriend for just a month, or maybe even a week. Noel Kahn always gets whatever he wants, but he couldn't have you, and you didn't even know because you were too busy in Fitzyland."

"Fitzyland?" Aria asked, rolling her eyes. "Well, it's a lesson for him! You can't always get everything you want. I know I spend a lot of time with Ezra, but that's not why I've been oblivious to Noel's apparently insane feelings for me. Maybe it's just because I barely talk to him."

"Whatever," Spencer said, shrugging her shoulders. "Have you guys seen Emily? I heard Ben Coogan is going to ask her out tonight?"

"Swimmer hottie Ben Coogan?" Hanna perked up, grinning. "His body is totally gorgeous! I saw him swimming at a meet. And oh my god... Emily and Ben would be perfect together. They're both swimmers! They could talk about all things aquatic. They are like the perfect match."

"It makes me wish Emily was coming tonight," Aria said, sighing. "She's not coming, guys. She's hanging out with Paige. That's why Jack is here without her."

"Wow, those two have been spending a lot of time together lately," Hanna said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm afraid Paige is gonna replace us or something! And I feel worse for Jack! He probably gets like no sex time with his girl."

"Well, they're both swimmers, so they probably connect," Spencer said. "None of us swim, so Emily can barely ever talk about her hobbies with us. It's good she found a friend who relates to her, but wouldn't it be even better if she got a boyfriend who related to her?"

"Like Ben?" Hanna happily said. "He'll probably ask her tomorrow. I know it's wrong, but I wanna snoop!"

"Seriously?" Spencer said, laughing. "We owe them some privacy!"

"I don't do privacy!" Hanna cried. "I'm open about it all. I snooped when Toby asked you out, and it was—"

"Wait, _what_?" Spencer said, her eyes widening. "You were eavesdropping that day? I had a feeling somebody was there, but Toby assured me that it was nothing! Why would you do that to me?"

"I knew he was gonna do it, and I just had to hear it!" Hanna exclaimed. "Obviously I didn't hear Ezra ask Aria out. Was it amazing? I wish I could have been there!"

"Glad you weren't, but he actually didn't ask me out," Aria said, chuckling. "We met, connected, and then made out. It wasn't very formal, but that's okay."

"Still a show I'm sad about missing!" Hanna exclaimed, grinning.

"Hey! Aria Montgomery?"

She turned around and grinned super widely.

"Holden!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, what are you doing here? It's so good to see you. I don't even know how long it's been!" She instantly pulled him in for a hug, smiling as she did so. "Hanna, Spencer, this is my longtime friend Holden, and I have no clue what he's doing here."

"I can explain," he said, grinning. "I just moved back to Rosewood. I'm gonna be going here. I'm Holden Strauss, and I've known Aria since we were little kids. It's really nice to see you all grown up. You look different than the last time I saw you. Oh! It's really nice to meet your friends."

Hanna and Spencer both smiled and waved at him.

"I don't mean to steal you from your friends, but you wanna go catch up a little?" Holden asked. "I'd like to known what you've been up to while I've been away from you."

"Yeah, of course!" Aria exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Spence, Han, I'll talk to you guys later. It's just been so long since I've seen him, and I'd like to catch up with him."

"Knock yourself out," Hanna said, waving at her.

She nodded her head and walked off with Holden.

"And then there were two..." Spencer said, sighing.

Unfortunately, she seemed to have jinxed herself, because Caleb walked up moments later to talk to Hanna, and Spencer knew he was going to swoop her away.

"Hanna, I need to talk to you right now," Caleb said right on Spencer's cue, staring at the floor. "I wasn't planning on coming to this party, but I had to see you, so will you please just come with me?"

She looked at Spencer apologetically before leaving with Caleb.

"And then there was one..." she mumbled.

It seemed like her good luck came back, because Toby approached her seconds later with a grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

"Why are you so happy?" Spencer asked, relaxing into his arms.

"Because I'm finally with you," he responded, swaying her in his arms. "Noel was a pain in the ass. I really needed to see you."

"Aria and Hanna both left me, so I needed some company," she said, sighing happily. "Do you want to get out of here and let me come over to your place, my homecoming date?"

"Your homecoming date would love that," Toby said, grinning. "Yeah, we can go right after I use the restroom. Wait here, sweetie." He pecked her cheek and headed to the restroom.

Inside was a sight he was not expecting to see. He saw it right after he opened the door of the bathroom. Pushed against the was was Mike Montgomery, and it wasn't some kind of bullying. He was making out with a dude. But not just any dude! It was Eric Peterson.

* * *

"I've had a really, really good time talking you tonight, Sienna," Bret said, smiling and reaching over slowly to take her hand. She flinched a little, surprising him. He thought they were feeling the same thing. "Did I do something wrong? Was that the wrong thing to do right now?"

"Yeah!" she cried. "Bret, of course I like you, but everybody knows you're dating Lauren. I thought things were really serious with you guys, and I thought you just wanted to be friends with me."

"No way, I wouldn't ever cheat on a girl," Bret said, shaking his head. "Lauren broke it off with me. I would never hurt the girl I'm dating. I know she and I broke up recently, but I think it's a sign that I should start dating somebody else, and I've never developed feelings for somebody so quickly, but then you came along, and I really like you already. I like everything about you, and I want to keep seeing you."

"I want to keep seeing you, too," Sienna said, smiling. "You're not one of those guys who just wants to hook up, right?"

"No way, I want a relationship!" Bret cried. "We don't have to hook up now, and we don't have to do it in a week. There's no pressure. I only wanna do it when we both feel comfortable about it, okay? You've gotta know that about me. I'm not like other guys, I swear."

"I could tell you were different from the moment I met you," Sienna said, sounding like she was in a movie. She leaned closer to him until her lips touched hers, and their mouths collided for a passionate first kiss. Her hands ran through his hair, leaving it disheveled.

* * *

"Eric?" Toby choked, biting his lip.

Both of the boys looked up, their eyes widening when they saw who was at the door. Mike was worried because he was the boyfriend of one of Aria's best friends. He couldn't get caught. He shoved Eric back and ran out the door of the bathroom. He planned on leaving the party. He was mortified to be caught.

"Jesus, Cavanaugh!" Eric yelled, standing up. "He left! This just got fucked up."

"Why are you kissing Aria's little brother?" Toby demanded, shutting his eyes. "I didn't know you were gay."

"Jesus fucking Christ, I don't even know if I'm gay!" Eric screamed. "I'm just experimenting. Why did you have to mess it up? I really like Mike, and I wanted to try it out. Is that so wrong?"

"It's not! You were in the bathroom!" Toby cried. "I didn't come here with the intention to find this, I came here with the intention to use the restroom like a normal person! You can't blame me for messing things up with Mike."

"Neither of us want anybody to find out about our relationship, so if you fucking tell, I swear I'll... I'll spill the beans about Bianca!" Eric yelled. "Mike and I both don't know what we are, but we're trying this out, and we don't need nobody judgin' us and ruinin' what we've got. You gotta swear to keep this a secret. Mike's a shy kid, and he won't see me again until you assure me that you won't tell anybody about us so I can assure him that it's safe. Got it?"

"I got i—" Toby started, but then he saw Spencer at the door.

"Toby?" she questioned. "What the hell is going on here? Eric? You're dating Mike?"

"Oh my god!" Eric cried. "This is shit. It's all blowing up in my freaking face! I can't do this to poor Mike, he's gonna be crushed. You're shit to me, Cavanaugh. S-h-i-t! You ruined the one good thing I had in my life!"

"I won't tell anybody," Spencer promised. "What is going on? What happened with Bianca?"

"Well, since Cavanaugh already destroyed this for me, I'll destroy it for him," Eric said, stepping up to face Spencer.

"Eric, shut up! Stop!" he yelled.

"No! I want to know, Toby, and you're not going to stop me from finding out," Spencer said, folding her arms. "I need to know what this big secret is, and I'm not sorry about this."

"That lil' slutty bitch Bianca played kissy-face with your boy Tobes," Eric explained.

"You're twisting what happened, Eric!" Toby yelled.

"Aight, I'll clarify a little more," Eric said. "Bianca tried to kiss your boyfriend. I'm done screwing things up for ya, Toby. Out I go. I'll see you both later."

With that, he left Spencer and Toby in the bathroom alone. She stood there, folding her arms, tears in her eyes. She stared at the floor, tears dripping from her eyes.

"You kissed Bianca, didn't you?" she said, sniffling. "I... I don't even know who you are anymore. You were always the best boyfriend I ever had... until now. I always saw girls get cheated on in the movies, and I didn't understand what that pain meant until now. Now... I get it."

"You think I kissed Bianca?" Toby asked, his eyes widening. "Spencer, listen, Eric was making it sound much worse than it really was. She tried to kiss me, but I pushed her away. You're going to believe Eric Peterson over me? You know me, you know who I am. You know I'm in love with you."

"But it feels like I don't," she said, wiping another tear. "I want to believe you, but it doesn't make sense to me. Why would you hide it from me if it was just her attempting to kiss you? If it wasn't a big deal, you should have told me about it, and that's what makes this seem like a lie! Toby, I'm done. This is over."

"Spencer!" Toby cried. "I didn't! I just wanted to make sure you didn't get mad at Bianca!"

"This doesn't add up to me," she said. "Goodbye, Toby."

"Spencer, please wait!" he cried, rushing after her, but she slammed the bathroom door in his face and left. He knew she didn't want to be near him.

* * *

"Caleb, what's going on?"

"I just needed a friend right now," he said, sighing. "I've always tried to be a strong guy, and never show weakness. I've never liked to cry in front of other people, or show that I'm pained in front of others, and that's why I didn't want to talk to anybody else. I feel like I can show all of that to you, and you won't judge me for it. That's why I want to tell you this."

"Of course you can tell me!" Hanna exclaimed, reaching over to grab his hand slowly. She laced their fingers, sighing. "You can tell me what's going on."

"I was planning on just coming to the party and hanging out with my friend Devon, but... but things went wrong," Caleb began, a tear falling out of his right eye. "I got a call from California. My mom died. My real mom... not my foster mom. She was trying to win my custody back from my foster parents, and she was just about to gain it, but she had a heart attack this evening, she died in the hospital. I knew she was ill, but I didn't think it would lead to a heart attack."

"Caleb," she said softly, leaning against his shoulder. "I am so, so sorry this happened to you. I feel awful for you! I can't even imagine what you're going through. The closest I have ever been to losing a parent was when my mom and dad got divorced, and my dad left us. It felt like a death to me, though."

"I'm sorry that happened to you, too," Caleb said, sniffling. "You won't tell anybody about this, will you? I don't need anybody else knowing."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said, nodding her head. "By the way, thank you for telling me about this. It means a lot to me that you trust me like that, so thank you for telling me."

"Thank you for being here."

Hanna smiled and pulled closer to give Caleb a side hug.

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe all of that stuff happened to you!" Aria exclaimed, laughing and grinning. "It all just sounded like so much fun! I can't believe I missed out like that. I wish I could have been there to experience everything. Rosewood is definitely dull compared to your life."

"Well, looks like I'm joining the dull life, then," Holden said with a goofy grin. "Listen, Aria, I know it's been a really long time since we've talked, but I've really enjoyed talking to you tonight—" she smiled as he spoke, "—and I might be rushing this, but people have told me about homecoming coming up, and I wanted to know if you would like to... go with me." He pulled out a flower. "I would have gotten you something grander, but I decided to ask you on such short notice, so this is from Noel's garden."

Aria laughed and smiled at him. She was so flattered, but she knew she would have to nicely break it to him that she had a boyfriend. She was sure that he would understand, though. He was Holden, and Holden was so amazing and sweet. She had to admit though, it felt really good to be asked to homecoming. Ezra wouldn't be able to ask her or take her, but that was the price she had to pay for dating her English teacher.

"Holden, that's really sweet of you, but I actually have a boyfriend," Aria explained, half-smiling at him. "He won't be taking me to the formal, but we're in a relationship, so he wouldn't want me to go with you. Thank you for asking me, though. It's really sweet of you, and it means a lot to me."

He nodded his head and said, "Damn, I forgot to slyly ask you if you were seeing anybody. It would have saved me a lot of embarrassment."

"No, you didn't know, and there was no embarrassment!" Aria exclaimed. "If it makes you feel any better, I would have said yes if I wasn't seeing somebody. Okay, that was a stupid and conceited thing to say, so I'm sorry. A really sweet girl deserves you, and I'm sure you'll find her, because you're a really sweet guy."

* * *

"Hey, Hanna Banana!" Sean exclaimed, jogging up to his girlfriend in the hallway. "You had to leave suddenly at the party last night. What happened? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it kind of is," Hanna said. "I'm sorry I bailed on our plans, it's just that something happened to someone in Caleb's family, and he needed a shoulder. He doesn't want me to talk about it with other people, so I can't really tell you exactly what happened. He needed a friend last night."

"As long as it's just a friend and nothing more, I'm cool with it," Sean said. "You asked me to get with your friendship, so I did. I accept it now. I hope his family member is alright. So, do you wanna reschedule those plans from last night? I could really use my girl tonight."

"I'm free tonight," Hanna said, smiling. She took both of Sean's hands. "Thank you for being so understanding, babe. I really appreciate how you listened to me and got with my friendship. I thought you would keep being the jealous type when there's nothing to be jealous about."

"I trust you, and our relationship is all about trust," Sean said, smiling at her. "So, will I see my beautiful Princess tonight or what?"

"You will," Hanna said, smiling back at him. "This Princess is looking forward to seeing her prince."

The bell rang, so Sean leaned over and pecked her lips before walking to class.

* * *

"Jaime, hey!" Bianca exclaimed, running up to her friend. "I took your advice, and I broke up with Jock. I didn't want to hurt him. I should have known that moving to a different town would mean me starting to like different guys."

"Well, it's good you took my advice," Jaime said, smiling. "I don't know your boyfriend personally, but I'm sure he doesn't deserve to be cheated on. Nobody does."

"Yeah, but I still feel like a douche for trying to make Jack and Toby cheat on their own girlfriends," Bianca said, sighing. "Spencer and Paige never deserve that. I wish I didn't do what I did to two guys who are in relationships!"

"Well, Jack's still dating Paige, but haven't you heard?" Jaime asked, but Bianca gave him a confused look. "Spencer and Toby broke up at Noel's party last night! Eric Peterson said they got in a fight, and then Spencer dumped him and then stormed out of the party. I heard it was intense!"

"They broke up?" Bianca asked, her face brightening up. "That means that Toby is single now! He doesn't have a date to formal anymore, which means that I can ask him!"

"Bianca, come on!" Jaime cried, shaking his head. "You just got out of a relationship, and so did he. I know he loves Spencer, he always has. You're going to embarrass yourself if you ask him. He probably isn't ready for a new girl in his life."

"Jaime, if there's one thing I know for sure, it's how I feel about Toby," Bianca said, sighing. "I can't waste another moment! I need to show him that we can have something good before Spencer jumps back into the picture all too quickly. I'm not going to miss my only shot to be with him.

Jaime began, "You—"

However, Bianca had already raced away to find Toby.

* * *

"Hey, I finally caught you there, cutie!" Jack exclaimed, sitting across from his girlfriend. "You have just been spending so much time with Emily that I haven't had a chance to talk to you about something. You know how homecoming is coming up?" She nodded her head with a smile. "Well, I'm sorry Paigey, but I can't go. I'm gonna be out of town that week visiting my grandparents. I'd love to take you, but I really already have plans."

Paige sighed and said, "Okay, well that's fine. I understand."

"I feel bad about it, sweetie, I really do!" Jack exclaimed.

"I get it," Paige said. "You shouldn't feel bad about it, though. I wasn't even looking forward to it that much."

"Good, that eases the pain a little," Jack said, smiling. He kissed her cheek and then got up from her lunch table. "I'll talk to you later. The guys wanted to hang out with me right now."

_Hey, can we meet in the janitor's closet? Like now -Emily_

Paige smiled at her phone and texted back a yes. She threw her lunch in the garbage and quickly rushed to the janitor's closet to see Emily. She snuck inside, and smiled when she saw her. Paige climbed on top of her and kissed her lips passionately. Their mouths collided with such heat. They made out for about a minute before Emily realized that she couldn't anymore. She pushed the brunette off of her and sat up.

"Paige, I didn't call you here to meet secretly again," Emily said, clearing her throat. "I don't like seeing you in secret like we did the night of Noel's party. I don't want to be a secret, and I don't like you cheating on your boyfriend. I think you should break up with Jack."

"Emily, I want to, but I can't!" she cried. "It's just too hard."

"Then you've got to find a way to make it through," Emily said, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Even if I do, we'll still have to sneak around because we both don't want to have to tell people that we're... you know..." Paige said, biting her lip.

"Gay? Bisexual? I'm not afraid to say it," Emily said, sighing. "I want to tell people about who I am, but if you're not going to end things with Jack, then I'm guessing that what we have isn't even really serious, so I'd like to tell you something." She paused for a moment before confessing, "Ben Coogan asked me to homecoming, and I told him I would get back to him. And since this went the way I thought it would, I'm going to say yes to him."

"Em!" Paige cried, and grabbed her hand. "I want to keep seeing you, but I'm scared. You don't have to say yes to Ben. Jack isn't even taking me to homecoming, he's going to be with his grandparents. We could go together as friends. It could be the first step into moving forward."

"I'm ready to move forward all the way and test if I'm bisexual with you, but you don't want to end things with Jack, and I'm not going to help you cheat on him any longer!" Emily cried. "Ben is super cute, and I wouldn't mind him taking me to the formal, so that's that. I'll talk to you later, Paige."

With that, Emily stormed out of the closet.

* * *

"Hey there, Toby."

"Bianca, what do you want?"

"I heard about what happened between Spencer and you."

"Yeah, and what happened is your fault!" Toby yelled.

"I know, and I feel bad that you lost your date for homecoming," Bianca said, sighing.

"It's more than just having a date to homecoming," Toby said, shaking his head. "You made me lose my girlfriend! She's not just some girl I've seen once or twice, she was my steady, longtime girlfriend!"

"Well, I can make her jealous and want you back," Bianca said, smirking. "How about I take you to homecoming? We can even go as just friends."

"You have a lot of nerve to come and suggest that bullshit idea!" Toby yelled. "Jealousy is what ruined our relationship, so I don't think we need anymore of that."

"Seeing you with another girl would make her insanely jealous, trust me, I'm a girl!" Bianca exclaimed. "She'll want you back so badly when she sees you there with somebody else. She'll miss all the good times she had with you if she sees you having a better time."

It did sound kind of tempting to make Spencer drool over their relationship. What if Bianca could make Spencer die for him? What if she could make her want him back the way she said she could?

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Toby said, shrugging. "We can go as friends, but that's it. I'll pick you up at six."

"Awesome!" Bianca exclaimed. "We can make Spencer _so_ jealous."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lauren Ross made her way to Bret's house. She was going to fix everything. She was going to become the bigger person. Actually, she knew that Bret never had bad intentions. He was such a good boyfriend, and she did not want to lose him from her life. She loved him so much, and she was so sure of that. So, she mustered up all the courage she had, and knocked on the door of his house. He was obviously shocked to see her, but she took it as because they hadn't spoken in a bit.

"Hey," she nervously said.

"Oh. Hey, Laur," he greeted awkwardly, scratching his head. "I think I know what you're here for. I got the message. You're here to finalize it."

"Bret... I'm not here to break up with you," she said, stepping closer to him. "I never should have taken you for granted. You're everything to me. You're my first love, and I want you to be my last, too. I love you, and I know that. I don't know why I got so mad. You're the best part of my life. I can't let that go. So, what do you say? Will you forgive me for the way I acted towards you lately? I was being crazy, I know."

"No, you weren't being crazy," Bret told her, melting when he looked into her eyes. He loved her, too. He couldn't let her go either. "I was being stupid. Our anniversary should have been for us, and is only. Hanging out with Noel that day wasn't necessary. You shouldn't have to be the one to apologize. This is my turn. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"So, can we both just be sorry, and get back to the way things used to be?" Lauren asked. "I would want that so badly. Would you want that, too?"

"There's nothing I want more than to be with you," Bret responded, and kissed her lips passionately, and then hugged her tight against his chest. But suddenly, he remembered Sienna. He remembered the mess he had created, and was trying to figure a way to get out of it. He could only think of one good solution.

He would break it off with Sienna. It was the right thing to do, right? He had been with Sienna for so little time. He had been with Lauren for so long. Sure, sometimes it was a pain in the ass to be Lauren's boyfriend, but he wouldn't trade her. He loved her. He hugged Lauren, and kept her right there. He would tell Sienna his decision as soon as he saw her.

At lunch time the next day, Bret found Sienna's locker, and confronted her, finally. He had only been "back" with Lauren for like a day, even though they had never broken up truly in the first place, but he was ready to be steady with her again. He loved her, he kept reminding himself. Sienna was just a meaningless kiss.

But what if it wasn't meaningless? That thought had to mean something if it kept popping up in his head. He liked kissing her. It felt different than it did to kiss Lauren. It was a totally different experience. He had been kissing Lauren so much, since they had dated for so long. But why did it feel good to lock lips with somebody new? He couldn't deny that he wanted to, and he wouldn't take back their moment. It was good, and he wanted that. He wanted to be with her at that moment.

"Hey, cutie," Sienna greeted warmly, smiling at him, and shutting her locker. "I was going to hit the Brew for a quick cup of coffee. Do you want to come with me?"

"I can't... I promised my friends that I would sit with them today," Bret lied, scratching his head.

"Oh, ok. Then what's up?" Sienna asked, still smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bret responded, furrowing his eyebrows, and swallowing hard. "It's just... our relationship..."

Sienna continued to smile and said, "I know. It's making me insanely happy. I haven't been happier in a long time. What happened at Noel's party was the best moment ever. It led me to someone good. Finally, a good guy. In really lucky to have found you that night, Bret. I just thought you should know how I feel. So, how do you feel?"

"I'm awesome," Bret said, but then confused himself. "I mean, like, I feel awesome about our relationship. It's really making me happy, too. I came over here to tell you that I seriously am crazy about you. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you lately, Sienna."

"That is so sweet!" Sienna exclaimed, and kissed his lips passionately. "Ok, I'm going to go to the Brew now. Thank you for stopping by, it was really amazing of you. You're the type of guy I want to be with. Where have you been all my life, Louis?"

"Just waiting for a girl like you to come around," Bret told her, cupping her cheeks. "Have fun at the Brew, babe."

"Babe? I like that," Sienna laughed. "Alright, I'll go now. Are you sure you don't want to tag along?"

"Maybe tomorrow... I would love to, but you know, I promised my friends," Bret lied.

Sienna smiled, pecked his cheek, and then walked away, heading off to the Brew. Bret sighed, knowing what a big mess he had made. He walked to the cafeteria, feeling guilty about what he was doing to both Lauren and Sienna. He sighed again, sitting down at the table with his friends.

"Hey, lovely," Bret whispered, kissing Lauren's cheek as he sat down.

"Hi there, handsome," Lauren giggled.

"Aw, you two kids are back together?" Aria asked, grinning. "I'm so happy for you!"

Noel gave Bret a look. He knew about Bret's fling and relationship with Sienna. And he wasn't convinced that Bret had already broken it off with Sienna, as he just asked her out so soon ago.

"Yeah!" Lauren exclaimed. "I knew it wouldn't be long until our love brought us back together. Isn't that right, B?"

"You know it," Bret said, putting his arm around her. "So, has any—"

All of their jaws dropped when they saw Toby freaking Cavanaugh holding hands with Bianca. They sat down together at the table, and he put his arm around her. Spencer watched them carefully, her heart pounding. Toby was dating Bianca? She couldn't believe it. Maybe it was true. Maybe he did kiss Bianca after all. Did he lie to her?

"Hey, everybody," Toby greeted with a smirk. "I see that you've noticed the woman I've brought today. My new girlfriend. Bianca."

"No fucking way..." Jaime muttered, scratching his head. "What about Spencer?"

"We broke up," Spencer said, rolling her eyes. "He can date whoever he wants to date. If it's the girl that he cheated on me with, then so be it!"

"I didn't cheat on you!" Toby cried.

"Well, that's really not what it looks like now," Spencer said, gritting her teeth. "You wouldn't be dating her, days after we break up. That doesn't make sense to me."

Toby swallowed hard, but was lucky that the tension was cut off when Jack sat down at the table, holding hands with Paige.

"Ok, so is everyone coupled up except me?" Emily laughed, but gave Paige a long glance. She knew Jack was her boyfriend, but she couldn't help it. "I need to find myself somebody already!" Truth was, she just wanted to make Paige jealous. She wanted her to break up with Jack already!

"Nope, I'm single as hell, and I'm loving the life," Jaime said with a grin. "And I'm guessing Spencer is, too."

"Fuck you, Jaime," Spencer snapped, getting up from the table, and walking away.

"Look what you did, you ass!" Hanna cried. "You're just mad because you're single. I've got Sean. Aria's got Ezra, Bret has got Lauren. Bianca has got... Toby, which I'm not completely on board with, and Jack has got Paige. Emily's hotter than all of us, so she'll find somebody soon. And Spencer and Toby are bound to reunite."

"Wait, what?" Jack asked. "Spencer and Toby broke up? And Bianca and Toby are dating? What the hell? How did I miss all of this?"

"It's a long story," Toby said, shrugging.

"You are NOT dating Bianca, Cavanaugh!" Jack yelled. "I don't believe it for one second. This has got to be fake or something. It's stupid, and it's crazy."

"It's not fake. It's real," Toby defended. "I wanted to date Bianca, so I'm going to. Is that a problem for you, Jack?"

"I still don't believe it. Kiss her, prove it to me," Jack said.

"Alright, fine. Toby, come give me, your girlfriend, a kiss, because Jack is too stupid to realize anything," Bianca said, rolling her eyes, and cupping his cheeks.

"Ok..." Toby muttered, preparing himself to kiss Bianca. This was the first time he had consensually kissed a girl since Spencer, so he was freaking out. He didn't want to, but he needed Jack to believe it. "Ok, ok, ok! You're right, Jack. We're not dating. I don't like her like that. I love Spencer, I'm in love with Spencer..."

Jack smirked and said, "Ha. I knew it."

"And why are you so obsessed with Bianca?" Noel asked curiously, raising his eyebrows. "Just wondering, because no one else gives a crap that they were fake dating."

"Bianca and I kissed!" Jack confessed, causing Paige's eyes to widen.

"I thought you guys just almost kissed," Toby said.

"At first, we did. I told her I'm with Paige, and I turned her down. But I couldn't help it. I chased after her later, and I kissed her again. It was stupid, impulsive, and I don't know if you'll ever forgive me, Paige," Jack said, sighing.

"I have to go," Paige said, getting up.

"Paige, wait!" Emily cried, chasing after her.

"How could you?" Bianca asked.

"I couldn't take lying to my girlfriend any longer," Jack said.

"Well, she's not your girlfriend anymore," Bianca snapped. "Way to go, Jack."

"Yeah, and we're not friends anymore," Toby angrily said. "Bianca, you've not only screwed up my relationship with Spencer, but you lied to me! You told me that Jack only rejected you, and then you made me feel bad for you. You made me pity you for a second, and that's when you thought it was ok to swoop in and kiss me? You're dead to me. Things were better before you came here. I had the best girlfriend ever, and you weren't in my life. Dammit. I need to find Spencer."

Toby ran off, looking for Spencer.

"Guys... I didn't mean to make this big of a mess," Bianca said.

"You have been starting so much drama," Hanna snapped. "I think I should go, too. I haven't talked to Caleb in a bit."

"Hanna, come on," Bianca pleaded. "I don't want to lose everybody."

But Hanna ignored her, and she left anyways.

"Aria..." Bianca muttered.

"Uh, I think I'm going to check what Holden is doing," Aria said, and got up from the table to walk away.

"Noel?" Bianca asked.

"We've got quite a bit of lunch left, I'm going to go brush up on my football skills out on the field," Noel announced, getting up. He patted Bianca's back and said, "I'll catch you later, tiger."

"Ok, the rest of you better not leave!" Bianca cried.

"Bret and I just got back together, we really need some alone time, anyways," Lauren tried to explain. "Do you want to go outside and make out or something?"

"Hell yeah!" Bret exclaimed, laughing. He grabbed Lauren's hand, and they ran outside.

"Alright, whatever. Get the hell away, already," Bianca said, sighing.

"I'm not going anywhere, Branson," Jaime told her, grinning at her. "I don't know why they're all taking it out on you, but I'm not. The only ones that should really be pissed at you are Spencer and Toby, maybe Jack and Paige, but the rest of them are being crazy. I don't wanna sound like a cheesy fuck, but I don't wanna lose you as a friend, Bianca."

Bianca smiled at him and said, "Thank you... I never thought that you would be the one to show the most compassion to me."

"You're not a bad person," Jaime said. "Maybe you should stop fucking around with taken guys. That would save you a lot of trouble."

"I genuinely liked Toby, I swear. And I thought I had feelings for Jack!" Bianca cried.

"You're not showing genuine feelings in a very good way," Jaime said, raising his eyebrows. "But it's ok. Do you want my cookie?"

...

"Spencer!" Toby cried. "There you are. You don't have to run away from me."

"You are the worst!" Spencer yelled. "I honestly loved you so much, okay? I mean, I thought you were the love of my life. I thought maybe it wasn't true... maybe you didn't cheat on me, but then you start dating that whore after we break up? I can't believe you, Toby!"

"Spencer, I wasn't cheating on you. If you had stayed, you would have found out that Bianca and I faked it. I wanted to make you jealous. I wanted to win you back. I thought you'd still have feelings for me if I was with somebody else," Toby explained.

"That's the worst way to win somebody back... ever!" Spencer cried.

"I'm an idiot, I know," Toby laughed.

"But what happened in the first place?" Spencer asked. "I never gave you a chance to explain, and I'm sorry about that. I should have."

"Don't worry about it," Toby told her. "Bianca was having guy troubles. She told me that she got rejected by Jack, so I felt bad for her. I tried to tell her that she doesn't have to worry, and I guess it came off as too sincere, because she thought I was hinting that I like her, and she tried to kiss me. I pushed her off right away, but Eric saw the whole thing. And I wanted to protect your friendship with Bianca, so I didn't tell you. I knew you care so much about the people you love, and you would hurt her to keep me. But I didn't want that to happen. So I kept it from you. But I walked in on Eric and Mike kissing, so Eric got pissed at me, because Mike ran off in fear, and then he twisted the story—"

"Shut up and kiss me, I believe you," Spencer laughed, and leaned in to touch his lips with hers. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Toby said, smiling and hugging her.

...

"We need to break up," Paige said, shaking her head. "I'm going to break up with him, I swear. Now that I know what he did... I can't forgive that."

"You cheated on him, too!" Emily cried.

"But I like you, Emily. A lot," Paige confessed. "I wanted to break up with him in the first place. If I like other people, and he likes other people, then we shouldn't be together at all! What's even holding our relationship together if we don't have feelings for each other? I have feelings for you!"

"No, I asked you to break up with him earlier, but it was too hard for you," Emily snapped. "Don't you think it's a little bit too late for this to work out now?"

"I don't think it's too late. I'm willing to try now, Emily. I just hope that you are, too," Paige said.

"Well, I think it's too late. That window closed when you turned me down for Jack," Emily told her, shaking her head. "People know I'm gay. Well, they know I'm bi. Hiding and sneaking around with you is like a step back for me, and that's not what I need. Not when I'm finally comfortable with who I am. Besides, I responded to Ben's homecoming offer. We're going together, as dates."

"Em..." Paige mumbled.

"I'm not sitting around and waiting for you to get okay with yourself," Emily told her. "We can be friends. I liked having you as a friend. Maybe we can just pretend this little fling didn't happen. I want to have a good time at homecoming with Ben."

"I understand," Paige said, sighing.

...

"Hey, Ezra," Aria greeted, walking into his classroom and giving him a long kiss on the lips.

He smiled and said, "Hey, babe. I'm just really stressed about all these papers I have to grade. They're giving me a headache."

"Hmm, well maybe you should tone down on all the homework you assign!" Aria teasingly said, and then sat down on his lap. "Do you have time for a quick distraction in this grading?"

"Quickly," Ezra told her, grinning and then kissing her again. "So—"

Cutting him off was the school's loudspeaker. The president of Rosewood High School, Andrew Campbell, announced, "Hey, student body, it's your president, Andrew Campbell with the late daily announcements. First up, the switch a class sheets are due by next Friday. If you don't turn it in, you're stuck in the classes you're in now, so get that in by the deadline! Next up, tryouts for the varsity and junior varsity soccer team are coming up, so get your clearance medical packets in, in order to be eligible to try out for the team. Now, for the fun stuff. Homecoming is coming up soon! Don't miss out on the football team's big celebration. Ask your date, or go with friends. Tickets are on sale now. Don't forget to buy them. Tickets stop selling this Friday. Don't miss out on an opportunity to have a blast with your friends, crush, and significant other! That's all for the daily announcements. Sorry about the delay. See you all again tomorrow. This is your president, Andrew Campbell, signing off!"

"Those were some long announcements," Ezra laughed, but noticed his girlfriend's silence. "Aria, are you ok? I know you really would like us to go to homecoming together, but we both know that's not an option right now. Is that what is bugging you? I told you that I'm working on the Hollis thing."

"Yeah, I know," Aria said, sighing. "I want to wait, Ezra, I really do, but all my friends are going..."

"You can go, too!" Ezra exclaimed.

"But I want to go with you. A date," Aria said.

"We can't... not right now," Ezra told her, sighing. "Look, if I get the job at Hollis, we can do whatever we want together. Let's ease into this. For now, go to homecoming. You can ask a guy, if you want. I'm ok with that. I trust you to make the right decisions. I want you to have fun. I don't want to hold you back from having a good time."

"I can ask a date?" Aria asked, smiling. "Preferably, it would be you, but there's a nice friend of mine, a longtime friend. It won't be weird if we go as friends. Could I ask him?"

"Sure," Ezra said. "What's his name? Tell me about him."

"Holden Strauss," Aria responded. "We've been friends forever, so it's not weird at all. He's just a platonic friend, too. I think it'll be good for us."

Just then, the bell rang.

"I should get to my class," Aria said. "Love you, babe."

"You, too," Ezra said, faking a smile as she walked away.

But he didn't want Aria to go with Holden as her date, and he knew it. But he also didn't want to be the one to stop her from having fun, or he knew she would resent their relationship even more. So, he let it go. He trusted Aria to keep Holden as a platonic friend. She would never cheat on him. Right? Right.

...

After school, the original girls were hanging out. The girls, minus Bianca. It was like she had been banished from the kingdom, exiled far away... because nobody really wanted her around anymore, except Jaime. The drama she caused was too much for all of them. It was time things went back to the way they were before— simple. They all wanted to be happy, together, without all these crazy problems that Bianca had been causing lately.

"So, you're going with Sean?" Aria asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Hanna responded with a smile. "He's such a great boyfriend. I can't wait for homecoming. Are you flying solo, or did Ezra manage to fake a student disguise for the dance?"

"I wish," Aria scoffed. "But he said I can ask another guy out to homecoming. So, I chose Holden."

"Holden? He likes you!" Spencer exclaimed. "I can't believe your boyfriend allowed you to ask another guy to be your date to homecoming. Either he's crazy, or he's trying to get you to break up with him, without doing it himself."

"He's not trying to end our relationship, Spence," Aria said, laughing quietly. "He knew I wanted to go with somebody, and since he can't go, he said I can ask Holden, but I'm only asking him as a friend. And I know he sort of does like me, but he's a very good, platonic, longtime friend. I can't wait to ask him. I hope he says yes."

"He will, honey, trust me," Hanna laughed. "He's crazy about you."

"My only concern is that he might not want to go as just friends," Lauren said, raising her eyebrows. "I mean, if he's super into her, he's not going to want to take the friend zone, and go as Aria's friend only. Maybe he can't handle that. He either wants to be your man, or nothing."

"No, Holden's not like that," Aria explained. "We've been friends for a really long time. I already told him I'm seeing Ezra. Well, I told him that I'm vaguely seeing somebody. He respects that, he's a good guy. We're still friends. Anyways, enough about me. Lauren! Now that you and Bret are back together, is the homecoming thing back on?"

"Well, he asked me to homecoming before we had the big fight thing on our anniversary, so since we're back together, or fixed all our problems, whatever you want to call it, I'm assuming that our plans are right back," Lauren said. "I'll talk to him tomorrow, and confirm it. I'm sure he wants to still go with me, though. He's the best boyfriend I could ask for."

"You guys really are the power couple, aren't you?" Emily teased.

"Hmm, I thought the power couple was—" Hanna began, looking at Spencer, but then realized her mistake, and stopped herself. "Never mind."

"Hanna, it's ok, he's not Voldemort," Spencer laughed. "Well, he would have been, but I have an announcement to make. During lunch, Toby and I talked things over. He told me how he was faking the whole Bianca thing. We patched things up. We're back together!"

"Oh my god, thank god!" Aria exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "You guys splitting up did not make sense to me. You're both so adorable together. My heart hurt when you guys broke up."

"So did mine," Spencer laughed. "I'm really happy we fixed everything, though."

"Aw, we're happy for you, too," Emily said, smiling. "So, are your homecoming plans back on, too?"

Spencer shrugged and said, "We haven't talked about it yet, but I also think so, like Lauren. He asked me before the break up, and now that we're back together, I'm also assuming that those plans are on again. It only makes sense."

"What about you, Emily?" Hanna asked curiously. "Have you got any offers?"

Paige watched jealously as Emily responded, "Actually, I did get someone. Ben Coogan asked me to be his homecoming date. At first, I was a bit skeptical, but he's really cute, and a great swimmer, so I said yes."

"You're going with Ben Coogan!?" Hanna exclaimed. "Ben is Sean's best friend. If you date Ben, you and I can totally double date! OMG!"

Emily laughed and said, "We'll see where this thing with Ben goes first, Hanna."

"It better go pretty damn far," Hanna said, grinning.

"Isn't Ben a jerk?" Paige asked, getting upset.

"No, most people say he's a pretty good guy," Lauren answered. "Bret and Noel are friends with him. He might get a little bit cocky sometimes, but he's a nice person. I think Emily will hit it off with him. You and Ben will be adorable together as a couple!"

Paige nearly choked when she heard that. She hated people talking about Emily and Ben as a couple now. It was disgusting.

"Wait a sec, Paige, have you talked to Jack since you heard about the Bianca news?" Lauren asked.

"No," Paige responded. "I'm scared to."

"Scared to face him?" Aria asked. "You shouldn't be. He's the one that wronged you. Cheating on you was a huge mistake! Are you thinking about breaking up with him?"

"I think so..." Paige responded. "Things felt wrong between us, anyways. He wasn't the best boyfriend. He didn't even want to go to homecoming with me. Plus, now I know that he cheated on me. Things have been going south for a while. Maybe it's time. Maybe my relationship with Jack has run its course."

"Maybe it has," Emily agreed, squeezing her arm.

...

The next day, Noel walked up to Bret with folded arms.

"You always tell me not to be a jerk. You try to make me a better guy. You've been trying to help me stop myself from the random hook ups with girls, and trying to help me get over my feelings with Aria. So naturally, I thought you were a good guy," Noel began. "But I've been wondering now. You met Sienna at that party. You asked her out. And now you're back together with Lauren. Please tell me you've broken up with Sienna."

"Of course I broke up with Sienna!" Bret lied, scratching his head. "I wouldn't be such a dick."

"Don't lie to me!" Noel yelled. "You are a dick, Bret. Are you cheating?"

"Ok, fine!" Bret cried. "I got back together with Lauren while I'm still dating Sienna. But Lauren thinks we never broke up in the first place. I don't even know if we did at all, but I started seeing Sienna in that time, and now we're together. And it gets worse, because Sienna and Lauren both want to be my dates to homecoming, and I was too chicken to break up with Sienna, because she told me how happy I make her—"

"You're a coward. A fucking dick coward!" Noel yelled. "You're not my best friend again until you fix this. Lauren is such a good girl. I don't really know Sienna, but I know damn well that she doesn't deserve to be cheated on like this."

"Is this coming from the guy who bangs and ditches girls!?" Bret cried.

"That's different," Noel snapped. "I don't make commitments with them. I don't tell them I want to be with them, and only them, and then go fuck another girl. I fuck them, tell them it's over like I should, and then move on. If you're going to get a new girl, you and your old girl should be finished with! There should never be two women in your life romantically, Bret! Why are you doing this?"

"I love Lauren, but we've been together so long. I want to experiment a bit!" Bret cried. "But we've also been through so much together, and I don't want to give her up. Siena's a breath of fresh air. She's pretty, she's fun, she's silly, she's new, she's not the same old thing again. I want to try her out."

"Well, you can't have both," Noel said. "You're going to have to pick one. They can't both be your homecoming dates. Someone is going to get hurt if you don't make a decision, okay!?"

"Noel, I'm gonna take care of it, I swear," Bret promised, swallowing hard. "I'm gonna take care of it. Nobody is going to get hurt."

"Yeah, well you better. Dammit, Louis," Noel said, brushing past him.

...

Aria made her way up to the dark haired boy, who was on his laptop, smiling and laughing as he did whatever he was doing on it. Aria admired him for a moment. The way his cute little dimple appeared when he laughed like that... he was so cute. His happiness made her smile. Aria sat down next to him, greeting him with a warm, "Hey."

"Hey, there," Holden greeted back, pausing whatever was on his screen, and turning to face her.

"What'cha working on there?" Aria asked curiously.

"I'm just watching some funny YouTube comedy videos," Holden responded with a grin. "Surprisingly, I can honestly tell you that they weren't bad at all. In fact, they were pretty damn good. I was so amused. I'm ashamed to admit it. But I'll only tell you. Will you keep my secret, Montgomery?"

"Your secret is safe with me," Aria teased. "But maybe my secret won't be safe... because I'd like to ask you to homecoming."

"You'd like to?" Holden asked teasingly.

"Don't make this harder for me!" Aria laughed. "Ok fine, I AM asking you to homecoming, but don't take it in the wrong way or anything. I'm still seeing my boyfriend. We're really good friends, and I'd like you to be my friend date. Like, to go to homecoming together as friends."

Holden smiled and said, "I would love to, Aria. I can't wait."

Aria smiled back and said, "Well, I'm psyched that you'll go with me."

"Are you kidding?" Holden said, laughing. "I'm the lucky one. I would be crazy not to accept this offer! I'm so happy you asked me."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi, I decided I'll start giving a quick synopsis before each chapter.

Synopsis: Rosewood High's homecoming dance is here! But this dance becomes the breaking point for Bret's cheating game, and he is forced to face Lauren and Sienna when he is caught. Spencer and Toby evaluate their relationship, and try to find out what they really want. Aria slips up when she has a really good night with Holden as her date. Paige comes to terms with her inability to be with Emily. Caleb lets Hanna in on a shocking secret about his past, which will now affect his future. Jaime helps Bianca cope with the fallout of her actions.

Chapter 6

Spencer put on her short, blue homecoming dress, and smiled to herself in the mirror. She felt like she looked good that night. She touched up her mascara, and alternative make-up, in the mirror quickly, before she got a text on her phone. Assuming it was Toby, she grabbed her things, and rushed downstairs. But then, she didn't see a car outside her house, so she checked her phone. The text wasn't from Toby, it was from Andrew Campbell. She smiled, still.

'Hey, cutie. You going to homecoming tonight?'

'Yeah! Tobes should be on his way'

'Cool, I hope you have a good time tonight. You deserve it. The student gov put a lot of work into setting this school dance up. I hope you like it.'

'I'm sure I will, you did arrange it after all. You're the master of that. But if it's not, I'll hold you responsible for my disappointment ;)'

'Oh, really? I would never want to disappoint you...'

She stared at her phone for a moment, biting her lip. But then, she did get a real text from Toby. He was waiting outside. She smiled, rushing to his car.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick kiss when she got in the car. "You're a little bit late. No big deal, but what happened?"

"I think I spent a little too much time on my hair," Toby joked, smiling, but he knew he was lying to himself. He was texting... another girl. It wasn't cheating, but it felt wrong to him, anyways.

"Well, I think your hair looks amazing," Spencer commented, cupping his cheeks and giving him an even longer kiss on the lips. "You, overall, look incredibly handsome, Mister Cavanaugh."

"Um, no, did I forget to compliment you?" Toby said, raising his eyebrows. "Because, you look so beautiful, I can't even look right now. We better get going. Your beauty is blinding me."

Spencer laughed, and he began to drive them to school. But he felt guilty. He did believe she looked beautiful. But he didn't spend all that time on his hair at home. He was late because he was texting Margaret McGuire, a girl from his chemistry class. She was really pretty, and funny, too. He loved Spencer, but they had been together for so long. He couldn't help but wonder what things would be like if he was single, and could do whatever he wanted.

The feeling was mutual, little did he know. Spencer felt the same way when she texted Andrew. What if she was single? Could she flirt like crazy? Could she meet a ton of new guys? She loved Toby, too, and very much, but they really had been together for so long. She couldn't help but want to experiment with herself a little bit. But for now, she was all Toby's, and he was all hers, and they had a homecoming dance to go to together.

...

"Alright, Sienna, I'll see you there. Sorry I couldn't pick you up," Bret said into the phone, but began hearing footsteps. "Crap... um, I've gotta go. I'll text you when I get there. Later." He quickly hung up, scratching his head when Lauren emerged from the stairwell. "Hey, gorgeous! You look lovely."

"Thank you, baby," Lauren said, kissing his lips. "Should we get going to the dance?"

"Yeah, of course!" Bret exclaimed, and grabbed her hand. They began walking to his car. He felt like a dick the whole drive there, though. He told Sienna he couldn't pick her up for familial reasons, but it was really because he had to drive Lauren. He couldn't drive them both! He didn't listen to what Noel said. He didn't man up and he didn't end things with one of the girls. He kept dating them both, and at this point, he knew it definitely was cheating. He wanted to break it off with one of them, but he couldn't decide which one! They both had qualities he wanted to keep around.

...

Paige stepped into the school gym, where the homecoming dance was being held. She sighed. She was dateless. Not only because Jack couldn't make it to the dance, but also because she broke up with him. That's right. Their relationship was over. It didn't make sense anymore. He wanted to try things out with other people, it was clear when he went after Bianca to kiss her, and Paige wanted other things, too. AKA Emily. So, why would they continue to date each other? She didn't make him feel like an ass, though. She owed that to him. He wasn't the only one that 'cheated', even though they both knew their relationship was long over. She told him that he wasn't the only one, and that she had been wanting other people, too. Of course, she didn't disclose the information that the 'other people' was referring to Emily freaking Fields... a girl. Jack probably thought she meant some other guy was on her mind.

And Paige's heart dropped. Emily really did come to the dance with Ben, that was no joke. Their arms were linked, and she looked happy. She could be with somebody that actually wanted to be with her in public. Her arms slowly shifted to loop around his neck, and hers on her waist. He pulled her head against his chest, and they began swaying to the music together, their bodies in sync. Paige sighed heavily, watching this sad sight. She really did screw it up with Emily, didn't she?

In the mean time, Hanna Marin and her handsome date and boyfriend, Sean Ackard entered the dance together. She was proud to be there with basketball-playing, swimmer Sean Ackard. He was handsome and talented, plus a pretty nice guy. That's why things worked with him. She greeted her friends, still holding hands with Sean as she did so. Finding Emily, they joined them.

"Hey, Em!" Hanna exclaimed. "You guys are so cute together. I love this. I love it."

"Thank you, and ditto to you and Sean," Emily laughed.

"Ben Coogan!?" Sean exclaimed, high-fiving his best friend. "What's up, man? You didn't tell me that you scored a date."

"Well, you've been so busy with your basketball games and practices, and I've got my swim meets and practices, so there hasn't really been much time, has there?" Ben laughed. "So, do you want to go catch up? We'll be back soon, ladies."

Sean nodded his head with a grin, and he and Ben ran off together. Emily and Hanna both raised their eyebrows at this random action, and began laughing.

"So, our dates ran off together to go bond their bromance again?" Hanna laughed, and hugged Emily. "I don't know if Ben has told you yet, but you look great. It sucks he's missing out."

"Same goes for Sean," Emily smiled. "Do you want to go—"

But then Caleb Rivers stepped up with a small smile and said, "Hey, Hanna. I need to talk to you."

"Oh... ok," Hanna said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Em, I'm really sorry. I don't mean to be Ben 2.0, but this is always super important. Catch up with you later, babe?"

Emily nodded her head, and watched Hanna walk away with the shaggy haired boy.

"Hey, what is happening?" Hanna asked. "Are you alright, Caleb?"

"I did something horrible," Caleb muttered under his breath. "This isn't about my mom, my family, or any of that stuff. This is all about me. What I did. And now I'm in huge trouble. I'm paying the price for something I never thought would affect me."

"You can tell me," Hanna coaxed. "We can work together. I can help you get out of this! I won't give up on you so easily. I mean, it can't be that bad."

"Oh, it's bad, trust me," Caleb warned her. "Of course I'm going to tell you, but I know there's nothing you can do to help me. I just wanted to let you know why... why things are going to be a little bit different from now on."

"Come on, tell me!" Hanna pleaded. "What is going on? I need to know."

"A while ago, there was this nasty guy. Well, I didn't know he was nasty at the time, but you know my shady tech business? It was still happening. The dude needed some service. I worked on all his shit. I spent so many hours pimping his phone, and fixing all his crappy electronics. They were like... Like they were brand new, when he got them back. So, I have my pay rates and all. I gave him his new stuff, and he bailed. He freaking ran away from me. I was pissed. I tracked him down, I demanded his pay. I even jacked up his car to show him signs, but he refused to pay me. And I couldn't go to the police about it. I mean, it's my illegal electronic service, I'll be in jail for that. They're not supporting a black market system. But anyways, I eventually gave up. I realized I'd been scammed and conned, and this piece of shit wasn't going to give me the money. I walked away that night, and I never touched him again—"

"Caleb, I don't like where this is going..."

"Just listen," Caleb pleaded. "Hear me out. Ok, so I walked away, you know that. I left the guy alone, even though he scammed me. But recently, he got in a big ton of crap, and he was killed. The guy was freaking murdered! I was shocked to hear about it, but a couple of his buddies have been ratting me out. They said that I had bad heat with him because he wouldn't pay me for my illegal services. And I know I will definitely have to pay a fine and spend a few nights in prison for my shitty electronic service, but murder? I could be sentenced for life if they can frame me. The guy who really killed him left no tracks, and they have nothing, no evidence at all, to help them catch the guy! The body is missing, but they know he's dead. I'm the only person they're suspecting right now. I'm the one who had a feud with him. I'm the one who had a motive to kill him. And his buddies are making me look worse and worse with their stories about what a psychotic ass I was."

"Caleb, oh my god," Hanna muttered.

...

"Laur, why don't you get some punch for us over there?" Bret quickly asked, sending her off. "I'll be in the bathroom." But he wasn't going to the bathroom. He approached Sienna with a smile on his face. "Hey there, sweetie."

Sienna gave him a long kiss on the lips before saying, "Wow, I thought I would never find you! Finally, we can be together." She took his hand, and held it, giving it a light squeeze. "Do you want to dance?"

"Sure, but not right now," Bret told her quickly, scratching his head. "I had a lot of punch to drink, and I think I need to head to the bathroom real quick. Catch you in a bit?" He didn't even give her a chance to respond, and just ran off.

Outside of the bathroom was actually Lauren, to his surprise. He swallowed hard, giving her a surprise hug from behind.

"Babe!" he exclaimed. "I finished quickly in there, so I went off to find you. Here you are."

"Are you ok, B?" Lauren asked with a concerned tone in her voice. "I got the punch you asked for."

Bret knocked the punch out of her hand before leaning in to kiss her passionately. He pushed her against the wall dominantly, and continued to kiss her in the hottest ways possible. His lips trailed down her neck, and his hands rubbed against her ass, finally giving it a long squeeze.

"B..." she moaned, but pulled back from his hold. "What is this for?"

"We haven't done this in a while," he said in a raspy voice, smirking at her. "I've missed you."

"That's why we're going to spend tonight together as a couple again!" Lauren exclaimed. "I've missed you, too, but that doesn't mean I only miss your body. I miss being with you, and I hope that's also what you meant. The sex can wait. I want to be just your girlfriend tonight. I want everybody to know that we're ok! Let's get in there."

"Everybody already knows that we're perfect together," Bret told her, kissing her nose. "We don't have to show anybody anything."

"I know, but people think we've been fighting so much lately. They need to see that everything is all over now," Lauren said. "We're happy now. We're better now."

Just to his luck, Sienna walked near them, confused as hell.

"Bret?" she said, furrowing her eyebrows. "How long have you been out here, babe?"

He ran a hand through his hair, knowing that his game was over. Noel was right about someone getting hurt if he didn't end things. Now, everybody was going to get hurt. Lauren's heart dropped. She was getting a bad feeling. But some parts of her still had hope that maybe she was wrong about this. Maybe there was an explanation to why another woman came in and called her boyfriend 'babe', but the chances were slim. She had been getting a bad feeling all through their rekindled relationship. He was jumpier than usual. She knew something was up, but she was just too afraid to ask. Things were finally going to be sorted out. But she was still afraid to know the truth. She wanted Bret to be the good guy that she had always known, but part of her knew she was definitely wrong. He had changed.

"Bret," Lauren muttered.

"What are you doing out here with your ex-girlfriend?" Sienna asked jealously. "I didn't know a bathroom break meant socializing with your ex."

"Your ex, huh?" Lauren demanded, raising her eyebrows. Tears were threatening to fall out of her eyes, but she wanted to wait until she knew the truth for sure. "Bret, you better answer me right now."

"I didn't... I didn't want to hurt anybody, please just know that," Bret began. "I've never been good at letting people down easily, and I couldn't break up with either of you. I didn't have it in me." Bret began tearing up himself. "Lauren, I love you. You've been the girl I've stayed up every night thinking about. You've always been my love. When we started fighting, I met Sienna. Sienna, you're an amazing girl. You made me happy when I was down. And I didn't know how to let either of you down. My intention was never to become this player—"

"I don't even know who you are anymore," Lauren said, sobbing. "I never thought you would do this to me. Your excuse is that you didn't want to hurt anybody? That doesn't change what you did! I'm sorry, Bret. I'm sorry that I ever believed in us. I'm done."

"Lauren..." he muttered.

"I'm done!" she yelled. "I'm so freaking done with you! This is it for us. I will never forgive a cheater. You don't get to be my boyfriend anymore, and you sure as hell will never be my friend again either. I'm done. Goodbye, Bret."

She stormed off, leaving Bret and Sienna.

"I thought I finally met a good guy," Sienna began.

"I am, I swear—" he began.

"I didn't want to be the one to ever make somebody feel this way!" Sienna cried. "How could you do this to me? And most of all, how could you do this to Lauren? She loved you. If you really loved her, you wouldn't have had a relationship with me. You would have told me that you're back together with her. I wouldn't have been that upset. I would have understood. She was your first love, I get that. But I don't get this. I don't get why you would cheat."

"Sienna, I really did like you," Bret tried to explain. "I wanted to have a breath of fresh air, and you were exactly that. I do love Lauren, though. I'm not good at sorting messes out. Please, just—"

"No!" Sienna cried. "I never signed up to be your breath of fresh air. I never signed up to be your rebound. I thought you just liked me. I did not sign up to be your second girlfriend. You can't go around dating 60 girls at once. Forget about this. You deserve to lose me, and you definitely deserve to lose Lauren."

...

Ben really did abandon Emily. And Paige took that as her cue to sit down next to the dark haired girl.

"Hello," she greeted quietly. "I'm sorry about Ben."

"No, you're not," Emily told her, shaking her head. "You're not sorry. You're just happy that you can swoop in now."

"Emily, is that all you think of me?" Paige asked. "We were friends before we had this fling, and I don't want that to change. I'm not ready to come out. Not at all. I wish I could be as brave as you, but I can't. And if you don't want to go out with a closeted girl, I respect that. There's too much drama in that. I can't change how I feel about staying in the closet, and I can't change how you feel about not wanting to date a closeted girl. But I still want to be your friend, and that's something that will never change."

"You're serious about this?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I really am," Paige responded. "So what? Friends?"

"Friends," Emily agreed, hugging her from the side. "I'm glad to have you back."

...

"And then my dad came in and was like, 'what the hell, Holden!?'," he concluded his story, and both of them bursted out laughing. "Weirdest day ever, right?"

"Did that actually happen?" Aria laughed, on the verge of tears (of laughter, of course). He nodded his head. "That's crazy. You're amazing, you know that, right?"

"That means a lot. You're quite amazing yourself," Holden complimented, chuckling quietly. "I'm really happy you asked me to be your date tonight, Aria."

"And I'm glad you said yes," Aria told him. "This was a really great night. Better than I've had in a very, very long time."

Holden gazed into her hazel eyes for a moment, before realizing what he actually wanted. And he knew she was feeling it, too. Sometimes, there were just moments that you know the person you're with is feeling something, and this was one of those moments. He had to gather up a lot of courage, but he leaned down and kissed Aria's lips gently. And to no surprise, she didn't retreat. She kissed back, running her hands through Holden's dark hair. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, and her hand ran down his chest, but suddenly, the thoughts of Ezra ran through her mind. Ezra Fitz, her sweet, sweet boyfriend... The guy that trusted her enough to go with another man to homecoming. He trusted her, and she let him down. Finally, she yanked her lips back from Holden's, and turned away.

"I knew I was taking a risk," Holden said quietly. "I was feeling something between us tonight, and I was kinda thinking that you were feeling it, too. I think you were. But now I'm confused again."

"Holden, I have a boyfriend," Aria reminded, touching her lips where she had been kissed.

"Dammit, I... I swear I forgot," Holden said, sighing. "I was so caught up in the moment, and I blanked, and Aria, I'm just so damn crazy for you. I can't stop thinking about you, but now I feel like a jerk. I shouldn't have done that. Not like this. Not now."

"I'm not blaming you," Aria said, shaking her head. "I'm stupid! My boyfriend is such a good guy, and I let him down. He's going to be devastated. I shouldn't have felt something for you tonight, but I did. Maybe it's because he's never here with me, and we're always secretly seeing each other. I want to be with somebody who is willing to flaunt me—"

"I don't want to get in the middle of you and your boyfriend," Holden cut her off, shaking his head. "I like you, Aria. You know how I feel about you. I just would want to know how you feel about me. But don't tell me now, please. I'll take you home. I'm not pushing you to break up with your boyfriend, and I'm not going to be a secret second guy for you. But if you ever figure out what you want, I am here. And I am crazy about you."

...

Spencer and Toby were slow dancing to the sweet music playing. Her head was resting on his chest as they swayed to the music, but both of their minds were elsewhere. The sound of Spencer's phone buzzing interrupted their dance. She was hesitant to answer it, but with a welcoming look from Toby, she did.

"Who was it?" he asked curiously, rubbing her shoulders.

"No one important," she quietly said, and started to shove the phone back into her purse. "Where were we?"

"Something doesn't feel right here," he said, swallowing hard. "I don't think either of us are really into this right now, are we?"

"Maybe we should take a walk," Spencer suggested.

He nodded his head, taking Spencer's hand. The two of them exited the high school's gym, and began walking down the street together.

"Things do feel different between us," Spencer agreed.

"I thought we were both all good," Toby said, scratching his head. "I thought we both wanted to get back together. You're not still mad at me about what happened with Bianca, are you?"

"No, I'm not. You told me you didn't cheat, and I believe you. I'm not mad about that anymore," Spencer said. "In fact, I'm not mad at all. But are we really both into this right now?"

"I do know that I love you," Toby told her, "but I've been texting this girl..."

"The person that texted me was Andrew Campbell," Spencer confessed. "He's just a friend, but I'm lying if I'm telling you that there hasn't been a moment that I haven't wondered if we could be more than just friends."

"Spence," Toby began.

"You're not mad, are you?" Spencer asked.

"No, I'm not," he responded.

"And I'm not mad that you've been texting another girl," Spencer told him.

"It's Margaret McGuire. I mean, she's also just a friend. But I've wondered, too. Nothing happened, though," Toby confessed.

"What are we doing, Tobes?" Spencer asked.

"I will never stop loving you," Toby promised her, and kissed her forehead. "But do you think that maybe we have been together for so long? Maybe we need a break. Experiment with ourselves. See where things go. And in the end, if we were meant to be, we'll get back together."

"You want to see other people?" Spencer asked.

"I'm curious," Toby confessed. "I do love you, I swear. Am I crazy for wanting to try something new?"

"I don't want what we have to end, but I'm lying if I say that I don't want to experiment with other relationships. Other guys," Spencer told him. "I want to be friends."

"Then this can be mutual," Toby said with a smile. "Spencer, you've always been one of my best friends. You weren't just the girl I love, you were also my best friend. You can still be that to me if we break up. This time, it's calm. It's not bad. It's not hasty. It's all ok."

"What if I miss being with you?" Spencer asked. "I'm scared to be with anyone else."

"This isn't forever," Toby promised her. "Let's just see where things go."

He smiled, kissing her lips one last time, before he knew he was letting her go.

...

There was a knock on the Benson family's door, but only Bianca was home. Her parents were out. She went to answer the door, and raised her eyebrows when she saw Jaime standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Bianca asked. "Shouldn't you be at homecoming?"

"Nah, school dances aren't my thing, Benson," Jaime responded with a grin. "I should be asking you that question, actually. A little birdie told me you're not going, but I didn't understand why. I thought you already bought your ticket. That's a waste of money."

"I can't go to homecoming when all of my friends hate me there!" Bianca cried. "They're all pissed at me. I didn't want to just stand there alone."

"They don't hate you," Jaime said. "They've been friends with Spencer for a very long time, and of course they're going to support her. You did meddle with her relationship with Toby—"

"Thank you for reminding me. Will you leave now?" Bianca asked, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, bitch," Jaime laughed, grinning. "I thought you could use some food." He smiled as he handed her a tub of ice cream, as well as a takeout box from a Chinese restaurant.

"Wow, Jaime..." she mumbled, raising her eyebrows. "That was really sweet of you to get me this stuff."

"Did I say it's all for you?" Jaime scoffed. "We're sharing, dumbass."

Bianca laughed and said, "Ok, ok. Get your ass in here."


	7. Chapter 7

Synopsis: Bret deals with the fallout of cheating on Lauren. Noel tries to find himself a date hookup, but ends up having feelings for the girl. Lauren is a huge mess after her breakup with Bret. Aria feels extreme guilt after kissing Holden, and contemplates telling Ezra about it. After their breakup, Spencer and Toby try dating new people, but are not pleased with the results. An unexpected figure from Emily's past makes a return to Rosewood High— her first love. Emily's first love returning causes old feelings to resurface, which is bad timing, because Paige begins her attempts to come out of the closet, and to get Emily back. Sean begins growing jealous because Hanna and Caleb are spending so much time together.

Chapter 7

Sitting down at the lunch table was Bret. All eyes glared at him. They had heard about what he did to Lauren Ross. It was sweeping the school quickly. Bret was a popular guy, so it was no surprise that his cheating scandal got around the Monday after he got caught. Sienna had told people. She had every right to. She was hurting as well.

"Nice job," Noel spat.

"We don't even know where she is anymore, Bret," Hanna said, shaking her head in disgust. "Cheating is horrible, gross, and sickening. No one should forgive a cheater."

"Maybe we should cut him a little bit of slack?" Aria suggested, feeling that the hate was directed towards her. She knew that they didn't know about her kiss with Holden, but she felt as if everything they said applied to her. She cheated on Ezra with another guy! Sure, it wasn't a long term relationship like Bret had with Lauren and Sienna, but she knew that cheating was cheating, and even one kiss counted. She hated herself for it.

"No! There's no sympathy!" Spencer yelled. "You need to own up to your mistakes."

"I can't tell Lauren how sorry I am about what I did!" Bret cried. "I've reached out to her over the weekend, and I've reached out to Sienna, too. They need space. They don't want to hear from the ass that broke their hearts just yet. But why do you guys have to shut me out, too?"

"You hurt our friend," Spencer said.

"I'm your friend, too!" Bret snapped.

"I'm a little bit doubtful about that since you cheated on one of my best friends," Spencer angrily said. "You're just sitting here casually after cheating on her? How can you be so calm?"

"I'm not!" Bret cried. "I feel horrible about what I did."

"Oh yeah?" Noel said, gritting his teeth. "Well, fucking around with other girls over the weekend isn't exactly the way to show your sorrow and pain about the loss. Chris spotted you at that teen club. Said you were getting it on with a ton of girls."

"Alright, I was miserable without Lauren!" Bret cried. "I miss her so much, man. I was looking for company. I shouldn't have kept things going with Sienna. I love Lauren, I always will. I went to the teen club to take my mind off of her. We broke up! I hooked up with one girl. That's all!"

"You hooked up with someone, and that's your way of showing your sadness about losing Lauren?" Noel spat again. "I've had my fair share of hookups, but I would never cheat on my girl, and then fuck another girl the weekend after I lose her! I wouldn't cheat on my girl in the first place. I told you not to do this, and you did it anyways."

"It's easier said than done!" Bret defended. "Fine. Fuck this. I don't need to sit here if it's going to become a center to lash out at me for something I did to my ex-girlfriend."

Bret got up and left their lunch table, but nobody followed him. Nobody could even believe that he would cheat on Lauren!

Toby slid into his seat with a grin on his face.

"Alright, what's got you in a perky mood, Cavanaugh?" Hanna asked with a smile on her face.

"I asked Margaret McGuire from my chemistry class out, and she said yes!" Toby exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. "I've got myself a hot date this Friday, and it's going to be awesome."

"You're going out with Margaret McGuire now? Nice!" Noel exclaimed, high-fiving him. "She's a hot piece of ass. I'm jealous, man. Well done."

"Wow, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you and Spencer are broken up," Aria said, raising her eyebrows. "And now you're just going out with Margaret McGuire already?"

"Aria, our break up wasn't some dark-cloud casting one. It's not like Bret and Lauren's, where things were left in a bad state. It's not like our break up last time, where we were mad at each other," Spencer explained. "This time, it was mutual, and we both thought it's ok to see other people!"

"Yep," Toby agreed, nodding his head and giving Spencer a long smile. "This is what we both wanted. She's free to ask out whoever she wants. It doesn't change the fact that we're friends."

Aria was still in disbelief, but she dropped it. She would save her questions for Spencer later, when they were alone and walking to class. She knew Spencer was too stubborn to admit that she still loved Toby in front of him, and she didn't blame the girl. How could Spencer say that she loved Toby while he was sitting right there, bragging about how he asked some other girl out moments ago?

Right then, Sean Ackard made his way to the table, cutting off the awkward silence. He kissed the top of Hanna's head.

"Hey, Hanna Banana," Sean greeted, sitting down in the empty space next to her. "You never came back during homecoming. What happened?"

"Well, you went off with Ben," Hanna said, shrugging. "I hung out with Emily for a bit."

"Yeah, but Ben found Emily later. You never came back to me," Sean said, furrowing his eyebrows. "I missed ya, babe!"

"Caleb had this huge situation, and—" Hanna began.

"Caleb again, huh?" Sean asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Sean, don't be like that," Hanna groaned. "I thought you said you trusted me with him!"

"I trust you! It's him that I don't trust," Sean told her.

"He is a good guy. He's never going to hurt me, and we're not doing anything wrong. He's going through a rough patch, and I'm just trying to be a good friend. Friends, nothing more," Hanna explained, and kissed Sean's lips passionately. "It's you that I want to be with."

"Oh god, cut this sap short!" Noel cried.

Hanna rolled her eyes at Noel, and then turned back to her boyfriend. She continued making out with Sean right there, in front of everybody. The rest of them felt uneasy at the extreme about of PDA being shoved down their throats.

"Alright, I'm leaving, Hanna," Spencer laughed, getting up.

Aria nodded her head in agreement, following the much taller girl.

"They're disgusting, right?" Spencer said.

"There was a time where you and Toby were the major PDA couple," Aria said, laughing. "Did I say 'a time'? Because it wasn't that long ago. Actually, only a few days ago."

"Aria, it's over between us for now," Spencer said, sighing. "What do you want me to tell you? And besides, we didn't show that much PDA! We kept most things private, only between us."

"I just don't understand how you're over him so quickly," Aria said, scratching her head. "You loved him a lot."

"I know, but we were together for so long. It was mutual. We both wanted to date other people, and see how it went," Spencer explained. "I've been texting Andrew Campbell a lot lately, and I've been thinking about asking him out for dinner sometime."

"Don't you still love Toby?" Aria asked.

"Of course I do. I always will," Spencer told her, sighing. "I don't love the idea of him seeing another girl, but that's what we agreed to do! And I want to see what happens with Andrew, so it's not insane or anything. It's just testing the waters out— it's not permanent."

...

Emily was walking home after school. Near her house, actually just the house next door to hers, she saw a mover's truck. She raised her eyebrows, scanning the premises. She saw that her mother was home, and went inside quickly to ask questions.

"Hey, mom. You're back from work early," Emily commented.

"No, I'm heading back in a bit," Pam explained. "I was hungry, so I asked my boss if I could run home and grab a bite to eat. He was ok with it. What's up, Emmy?"

"There's a mover's truck out there," Emily said, scratching her head. "I didn't even know the house was vacant for movers... I thought Jason DiLaurentis and his mother still lived there."

"There are new movers?" Pam asked, shocked. "I didn't even notice when I came inside! Em, why don't you be a doll of a new neighbor, and bring them a basket of goodies to welcome them to the neighborhood?"

"Oh, sure..." Emily agreed, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It's sad that Jessica and Jason left the neighborhood!" Pam cried. "I mean, they didn't even mention that they were moving away in the first place. I can't believe they didn't say anything to their friends, or give some kind of goodbye notice. I mean, I've known Jessica for quite some time. I thought she would tell me if she was leaving."

"Maybe I saw things wrong," Emily said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll put the basket together just in case, though. I'll go see what's out there."

Pam smiled and said, "Good girl. I'm going to head back to work. Have a good day, sweetie." She kissed her daughter's head before exiting the house, glancing at the mover's truck before getting into her own car, and driving away back to work.

Emily put together a basket with chocolates, flowers, and a candle. She smiled to herself, proud of the basket she had decorated and put together. She left her house, and walked to the neighboring one. To her surprise, she saw Jessica DiLaurentis outside, guiding the movers.

"Mrs. DiLaurentis?" Emily questioned.

"Hello, dear. I can't talk right now, I've got a lot of work to do," Jessica answered, brushing the tan girl off, and getting back to work.

Emily furrowed her eyebrows, walking to the door. She rang the doorbell, and was again confused when Jason DiLaurentis answered the door. He furrowed his eyebrows as well.

"Uh... hi, Emily," he greeted, confused, in his deep voice. "I didn't know you were stopping by. What's with the basket?"

"I thought someone new was moving here because of the moving truck, so my mom wanted me to bring a basket to welcome the new neighbors," Emily explained, biting her lip. "Man, this is awkward. I mean, you're still here, and I thought this would be for someone—" Her eyes widened when she saw a blonde emerge from behind Jason.

"Jason, who's at the door?" she asked, trying to peek above her brother. "Emily?"

"Alison..." she mumbled, her eyes widened.

...

Paige sat in her bedroom. She was thinking hard about what happened. She had told Emily that she just wanted to be a respectable friend for now, but that wasn't true. She was dying to be Emily's. She had loved the tan swimmer for so long. Breaking up with Jack was easier than it should have been, and it was all because she was in love with Emily Fields. She smiled to herself, thinking about the girl. There was no confirmation that Emily was dating Ben, right? She still had a chance to change her mind.

And then, suddenly, she didn't care if people knew that she was a lesbian, gay, bi, or whatever the hell she was. She wanted to be with Emily, and that's what mattered. She was ready to come out of the closet, if it meant that she and Emily could be together. Paige shut her laptop, and exited her bedroom. She got on her bicycle, and started biking to the only place she knew she needed to go at that moment.

The house of Emily Fields.

...

Emily's eyes started to tear up, and she didn't even know why. She was going to turn away. She had to. She was too embarrassed to be in front of Alison right now.

"Um, I'm going to give you two some reunion time," Jason announced, turning away, and leaving.

The tanner girl started walking away anyways, but Alison reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Em..." Alison said quietly. "Where are you going? I missed you."

"I never thought I would see you again," Emily sobbed, shaking her head. "Now I have to face you again."

"You were one of my best friends! I thought you would be happy to see me again," Alison said, shocked.

"Are you forgetting what happened when you left?" Emily asked. "The day you left..."

1 year ago

Alison Lauren DiLaurentis placed her glass of water on the bedside table, and then scooted next to her much tanner friend. She had a sweet smile on her face. It was more of a 'sad' look of happiness. She was admiring the girl sitting next to her, but only because she would be leaving her. That was the sad part.

"I'm going to miss you the most," she told her, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "You're my favorite, Em. You always have been." She pointed at the picture of Paris hanging up on her wall. "Someday, I'm going to come back to Rosewood, and I'm going to grab you, and we're going to jet off to Paris... forever."

Emily bit her lip before saying, "That's crazy."

"No, it's not crazy. It's ambitious," Alison told her, giggling quietly.

"Why do you have to leave?" Emily asked sadly. "I don't want you to go."

"My parents," Alison began. "They think I'm a bad girl already, but my stoner of a brother made it worse. They don't want me to end up like him— drunk all the time, high all the time. Rarely sober. They think sending me off to boarding school will stop me from becoming a bad seed. Save me while you can. They have to prevent me from becoming another bad child... another regret child, all while my brother has fun in a quick rehab time. He'll be done with rehab in a couple of months if he makes the correct amount of progress, but his mistakes landed me in boarding school for who knows how long!?"

"I think you're perfect as is," Emily commented.

Alison gave her a longing smile, but the gaze was interrupted shortly.

"Alison, come downstairs!" Jessica DiLaurentis yelled to her daughter. "Your father is waiting to drive you."

Emily was afraid she would cry. She grabbed Alison's hand, giving it a squeeze. Both of them knew the time of departure was coming. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Lauren were waiting downstairs, wanting to give her a last goodbye before she left.

"Please don't go," Emily begged, tugging on Alison's sleeve.

"I would do anything to stay with you. But this is the one situation that I don't know how to get out of," Alison told her with the saddest look in her eyes.

Emily swore Alison was going to cry. For the first time, she had struck real emotion in the girl. Before she knew it, the blonde bursted out crying, hugging Emily.

"I love you," Emily confessed.

"What?" Alison choked, pulling back from their hug. "Yeah, of course I love you, too. You're my best friend. You're the only person I really don't know how I'm going to leave."

"Not like that," Emily elaborated. "Not like how you think I love you."

Alison seemed confused for a moment, but Emily was able to clarify with a short and chaste, yet meaningful, kiss on the lips. The blonde reciprocated the kiss, even going as far as placing her hands on Emily's cheeks, cupping them gently.

Jessica called her daughter again, and Alison rushed downstairs. Emily watched her race downstairs. She couldn't even catch up to her. Her bags were in the car, and Kenneth drove her to the airport. Just like that, she was gone.

Present time

"No, I didn't forget," Alison said, looking away. "Look, what happened was stupid. We were saying goodbye. You kissed me. How is that my fault?"

"I can't believe you're pretending like it was all me!" Emily cried. "I loved you, Ali. You know that. And when I kissed you, you kissed me back. Why didn't you call or text for one moment?"

"Um, I was making memories in my boarding school. I'm straight, Emily," Alison snapped. "You can be as gay as you want, but that won't change me. It was a goodbye kiss. Caught in the moment. Are you sure it wasn't just your head making up that I kissed you back? Because I don't recall it being that way."

"I can't believe this," Emily mumbled. "I thought that if you ever came back, we would finally see what we meant. I don't love this version of you. This isn't the girl I fell in love with. And you know what? Enjoy your damn basket. Welcome to the neighborhood, just as if you were actually a new stranger that I was meeting for the first time, because I don't even know you anymore. I don't remember this version of you." She shoved the basket she made into Alison's arms, and stormed off back home.

She did cry. She went up to her room, and she cried. She didn't know how Alison reacted, because she didn't want long enough to find out. All she did was run away, too afraid to look into her eyes for one last moment. Now, she was home alone, and she could just cry. But that was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. She groaned, slowly dragging herself downstairs with dread, and opening the door. She was almost startled to see Paige McCullers standing there.

"Holy crap..." she muttered. "Hey, Paige."

"Are you crying, Em?" Paige asked, concerned.

"Dammit, it doesn't matter!" Emily nearly snapped. "Do you need something? I would think there's a reason for why you rode your bike all the way to my house."

"Of course there's a reason," Paige told her. "I realized how stupid I was. All weekend, I've been thinking about it. I can't just be your friend when I'm crazy about you. I love you, Emily, and I don't want to hide that anymore. I want to tell everybody about who I am, and the girl that I love. I'm ready. No more hiding us."

"Please don't spring this on me..." Emily muttered.

Paige shook her head and said, "No more drama. I'm ready to make this simple, easy, and amazing!"

Paige leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Emily's lips, but the darker haired girl ended it in almost merely a second.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked.

"I gave you a door for us to be together, but you walked out on me. You pushed me to be with Ben—" Emily began.

"This is honestly about Ben? Is that what you're telling me?" Paige asked, surprised. "Emily, to be honest, I didn't think you really had any feelings for him!"

"Since when did you always know what I want?" Emily snapped. "Ok, Ben is not the main part of the problem. This is a really bad time, ok!? Can you please just respect that and keep your distance? I've got a lot going on."

"Don't you want to be with me?" Paige said.

"I'm not doing this right now," Emily told her. "Go back home."

...

How was homecoming :) -Ezra, Friday 11:57 PM

Hey! Do you want to come over for a morning full of cartoons and pie? -Ezra, Saturday 9:58 AM

Babe, I miss you! Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? -Ezra, Saturday 7:43 PM

Hello? -Ezra, Saturday 8:01 PM

Aria, you're starting to worry me. Can you please call me back? Is everything ok? -Ezra, Saturday 9:32 PM

It's been a few days since we've talked, and I miss you so much. I need to know that you're ok. It's stressing me out. This is all I can think about. -Ezra, Sunday 12:01 AM

I really just want to talk to you again. I don't know what's happening! Love you. -Ezra, Sunday 6:56 PM

I saw you at school today. Can you please tell me why you're ignoring me? Why didn't you answer me when I asked to talk to you after class? I don't want you to ignore me, please. Can you just tell me what's wrong? -Ezra, Monday 8:43 PM

Aria tossed her phone on the bed, groaning in frustration. She wanted to text Ezra back so badly, but she couldn't! Not after what she did to him. Holden had decided to give her some space while she thought about what happened at homecoming, but Aria still couldn't figure anything out. She did a bad thing. She was no better than Bret, was she? He cheated on Lauren. She cheated on Ezra! She didn't want to be another exile from her friend group. They seemed to be exiling people a lot lately. First Bianca, and now Bret.

But all Aria knew for sure was that she needed to figure out what to do about her situation with Holden and Ezra.

...

Hanna was sitting at the Brew alone, sipping a cup of coffee while reading some fashion article on her cell phone. Sliding down to sit across from her at her table was Caleb Rivers. At first, she smiled, but then the sme turned to a look of concern.

"Caleb, is everything ok?" Hanna asked, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "Did anything happen with that guy who died? And what about your mom? You seemed to have forgotten all about that."

"No, I didn't forget anything," Caleb told her. "I like this friendship we have, Hanna, and I don't want this to become a pity thing. We only hang out whenever I have something to tell you about my life. We don't need to talk about my mom's death, or the possible trial that's going to come up for me. Those things affect me, but I still want to enjoy my life. And enjoy you being my company."

Hanna blushed and said, "Well, I do enjoy talking to you about your life, but did you have something in mind?"

"Maybe we could hang out some time, for real, as friends," Caleb suggested, offering her a smile back. "I want to clear my head. No more thoughts about all this drama shit. I want to just spend time with you, relax, and take my mind off of it."

"That sounds like a good day," Hanna commented. "But it also sounds like a date."

"Jesus, why do girls always think it's like a date?" Caleb asked. "Look, I know you've got a boyfriend. Sean Ackard. He's a handsome boy, I respect that. I don't want to get in the way of whatever you two have. I want to be your friend, is that so hard to believe? I want to hang out as friends! I'm sure you're used to guys fawning all over you."

"Why would I be used to that?" Hanna asked. "I'm not... the only guy that's really ever appreciates me and fawned over me is Sean, and that's why I love him. He makes me feel special. Different than I've ever felt before."

"Everybody has a first love," Caleb said, smirking. "And look at yourself, Hanna. You're beautiful. I find it hard to believe that guys aren't just fawning over you all day long. I'm finding it hard just to control myself right now!"

"You're such a weirdo!" Hanna laughed. "Everybody has a first love, huh? Well, mine is Sean. Who's yours?"

"That's a story for another time," Caleb responded, winking. "Perhaps that story can be told when we hang out."

"When we hang out?" Hanna asked. "I didn't know our hangout day became a definite plan."

"Are you trying to mess with me, woman?" Caleb said, shaking his head. "Do I have to get down on my knees and beg for you to hang out with me as a friend?"

"While that would be nice, no," Hanna joked, still smiling. "I would love to hang out some time. Give me a call, and update me if you figure out a date and a time."

"Will do, Marin," Caleb said, smiling, grabbing his own coffee, and walking out the door of the Brew.

Sean took his cup of coffee from the barista's hands, and turned away. He didn't like what he saw. Hanna practically holding hands with her sketchy bad boy friend? He needed to put a stop to this.

...

"Andrew! Hey!" Spencer exclaimed, running after the buff nerd.

"Oh, hey there, killer," Andrew responded, smiling with the dimple on his face showing. "Did you have fun at homecoming on Friday?"

"Uh, yeah," she responded, scratching her head. "It was a pretty good event. Good job setting it up. I wasn't disappointed, trust me."

"That's what I was hoping you would say," Andrew said, still smiling.

"Okay, well, here's the thing," Spencer said, getting a slight bit nervous. "I'm free this Saturday, so I was wondering if you are, too, and if you would like to go out for dinner with me or something."

"Is this like a date?" Andrew asked, getting confused. "What about your boyfriend?"

"We broke up," she answered, biting her lip. "It was a mutual decision that I'm ok with now. Toby's seeing other people, too. And I'd like to start this new thing by asking you out. So yeah, it is a date. I just wanted to come right out and ask."

"Of course," Andrew answered, grinning. "Of course, I would love to. As long as this isn't some rebound date—"

"No, it's not. I'm asking you. And that's because I want to. Not because I have to, and not because I want to show Toby that I can. We both wanted this," Spencer assured him. "I just... I would really like to see where this goes between us, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. To be honest, I've liked you for a really long time. I just never did anything about it because I didn't want to screw with you and Toby," Andrew confessed. "I didn't think you liked me, anyways. You seemed happy with him. So, I'm really happy you asked me out. I couldn't do it myself."

"I was happy with him, I can tell you that," she said, sighing. "But we're over now, and that means new relationships. New beginnings. And I'm really happy that you're giving me a chance."

"Good, I'm glad, too. I would be silly to say no!" Andrew laughed. "So, I'll see you Saturday? Could you text me the details of where we're eating, or what we're doing?"

Spencer nodded her head and responded, "Yeah, I'll text you soon."

...

"Hey, is Lauren home?"

"Yes, but I don't think now is a good time to see her," Mrs. Ross said, scratching her head. "I don't know if you already know, but she and Bret broke up on Friday, and she's been a mess ever since."

"Oh, I know," Aria said, sighing. "It's so sad to see them broken up! I always thought they were so good together. I came to cheer Lauren up. I brought ice cream and cookies. Emotion food all ready to go."

"Oh, Aria, that's so sweet of you!" Mrs. Ross exclaimed with a smile. "I'll be heading off to the gym now, but Lauren is upstairs in her bedroom, if you'd still like to see her. Thank you for being such a good friend."

Aria smiled, watching Mrs. Ross leave the home. She walked upstairs to Lauren's bedroom, and opened the door.

"Hey, girlie!" Aria exclaimed, sitting on the bed, where Lauren was bawling her eyes out. "What are you looking at over there?"

"These fucking memories that I can't get out of my head!" Lauren cried, groaning and falling back on her pillow, with tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I can't get him off of my mind, Aria. I love him, even though he's such a dick! Why would he do this to me?"

"People can be insane," Aria comforted, handing her the cookies. "I thought you could use some cheering up food."

Aria glanced at the photo album that Lauren was looking through. There were so many adorable photos of the longtime power couple. Some from theme parks, some from school dances, some from park days, some from theme parks. They did so much together. She hated being apart from Bret. And Aria couldn't believe how cute they were together. The photos showed so much love between them. It just seemed strange that Bret would cheat on her.

"You two had a lot of good memories together," Aria commented, admiring the pictures in the photo album.

"Yeah, I know we did," Lauren agreed. "He was always such a good boyfriend. He treated me like I was his everything. We've been through so many ups and downs, and now, all of a sudden, we just plummeted straight down! Did he get tired of me? Did he just lose interest in me?"

"No, Laur, he loved you," Aria told her.

"If he loved me, he wouldn't have cheated on me!" Lauren cried. "Cheating is inexcusable. I mean, I wouldn't have found it so horrifying if he had come to me and told me himself, but I had to find out by walking on him hanging out with that stupid Sienna bitch."

"So, if you cheated on somebody, you would tell them?" Aria asked curiously, thinking about herself and Ezra.

"I think it's the right thing to do," Lauren responded. "It wouldn't have stung so badly if Bret had the decency to try and talk to me about it. He could have told me that he's been having trouble deciding between us. I could have waited for him to make his choice. We could have been ok. But he hid it from me for so long! He was literally in a relationship with another girl, and didn't tell me about it. That's what I find so disgusting. He kept it from me. He didn't want me to know."

"He just didn't want to hurt you," Aria tried. "I mean, it was probably really hard for him, too. He probably hated sitting on a problem that big."

"Well too freaking bad!" Lauren cried. "That doesn't make it ok! And why are you on Bret's side after he cheated on me?"

"I'm not on Bret's side! Cheating on you was a bad thing to do, I agree with that," Aria said. "But maybe we shouldn't hate on him so much. Shouldn't we at least try and understand what he went through with, too?"

"Um, no. He didn't go through anything when he decided to cheat on me," Lauren snapped. "I know, such a huge dilemma when you have to only commit yourself to one girlfriend! Hard life, huh?" Lauren paused for a moment before asking, "Aria, did something happen with Ezra?"

"No! We're good. We're ok. We're happy," Aria told her, but she knew she was lying.

"Did Ezra cheat on you!?" Lauren cried. "You don't have to forgive him—"

"No, he didn't do anything to me," Aria mumbled. "But I did. I cheated on Ezra. He told me I could go with another guy to homecoming, so you know I asked my friend Holden. But then Holden kissed me, and I kissed him back. I mean, I miss Ezra! He and I can't do anything together... you know why. He's my teacher. But I do love him. I love him so much. I feel like crap for cheating on him."

"Aria..." Lauren muttered.

"You hate me, don't you?" Aria asked. "I'm just as horrible as Bret. I'm going to hurt Ezra so much if he finds out."

"Tell him," Lauren said, looking down. "I can't believe you would cheat!"

"So, you hate me," Aria confirmed.

"No, I don't hate you, Aria!" Lauren yelled. "I'm just shocked. Why do so many people in this world cheat? If you ever get cheated on, it's the worst feeling in the world. You feel like everything has been a lie. You need to tell Ezra."

"Why? So he'll break up with me?" Aria asked, folding her arms. "I don't want our relationship go be over."

"You'll find out if it is when he reacts," Lauren told her. "I don't have much tolerance for cheaters, but you are one of my best friends, Aria. At least you haven't been secretly dating the guy, because what Bret did was horrible. You know I always want to see the best in you, and I know that you're good enough to tell him the truth. Or at least stop blowing him off, first."

"How did you know?" Aria asked.

"Sweetie, your phone has been buzzing non stop ever since you got here," Lauren told her, patting her back. "I really appreciate that you came here to help comfort me over my break up, but I think you have your own relationship to deal with first."

"Thank you, Lauren. You're the best. Stay strong, by the way," Aria said, kissing Lauren's cheek before leaving the Ross home.

...

Ezra heard a knock on the door of his apartment. His heart leaped for a moment, and he jogged over the door, opening it. He swallowed hard when he saw Aria standing there. He wanted to be angry, but he knew that she would have a good reason for whatever she was doing. She was a mature person.

"Hi," he greeted. "Come in."

She stepped into his apartment nervously. He almost felt like a stranger. The heat between them was put on pause for a moment, and there was this big, icy slab of glass between them, and they needed to fix it before they could go back to being star-crossed lovers all day long.

"So, you finally decided to talk to me again?" Ezra asked, raising his eyebrows. He practically scoffed as he said, "I have been waiting so long, and trying to figure out what I did wrong! What I did to make you feel this way—"

"You didn't do anything," Aria cut him off.

"Ok. Then why does it feel like I did?" Ezra asked, grabbing her hands. "Talk to me, Aria. Are we over? I just don't get it."

"You can hear me out, and then you can decide for yourself," Aria told him, biting her lip. She turned her back to him, staring at the door. She knew she would probably be walking out of that door when he found out the truth.

"I'm never going to end this with you. I love you," Ezra told her, kissing her lips gently, but she could barely kiss back. "Please, let me in. Nothing you can say will change how I feel about this. I want to be with you. I'm going to get that job at Hollis, and we are going to be perfect."

Aria sighed and confessed, "Ezra, I cheated on you."

"Wait, what?" Ezra choked.

"I'm stupid!" Aria cried. "I asked Holden to homecoming, we had a good time, and then he kissed me. I know I kissed back, but I was just missing all the attention from you. It meant nothing to me. You're the one I want to be with."

"I knew it... I knew letting you go to that God damn homecoming with another guy was a big mistake!" Ezra cried. "Is that when I lost you?"

"I was feeling too guilty to call you back, ok!? I know I did something terrible, and I didn't want to face you. You're the sweetest guy ever. You deserve the best," Aria said.

"You are the best," Ezra whispered.

"Are we ok?" Aria asked. "Please..."

"Is that when I lost you?" Ezra asked again.

"You haven't lost me!" Aria cried, grabbing both of his hands. "You'll never lose me. I know I kissed another guy, but you haven't lost me. All my love is still for you. We were only strained because I can't take sneaking around anymore. I admit, it felt good to be with someone in public. But I would never trade you. You're everything to me. How can I fight for you now? Tell me, and I'll do it."

"I told you I would get a job at Hollis," Ezra said.

"I don't know when things are going to change, but I just want to be able to hold your hand in public!" Aria cried. "I don't love Holden, I love you. That won't ever change. I need to know if we are ok, Ezra."

"I don't know what we are!" Ezra practically yelled. "How am I supposed to just make a decision right now? I'm so hurt, Aria. I feel like my heart has literally been stabbed. The thought of you kissing another guy is the worst image in my mind, and I can't handle it. But then, I remember how much I love you, and I don't want to lose you."

"Maybe I should go," Aria suggested.

"Maybe you should," Ezra agreed. "I can't keep... I can't keep thinking about this right now. I will call you when I figure out what I want."

Aria nodded her head, and shamefully walked out of his apartment.

...

Friday night.

'How can I stop wanting her?' Emily thought, staring at a photo of Alison DiLaurentis. She could never forget about her first love. It was too hard.

It was raining outside. That made Emily's thoughts feel all the more dramatic. She sighed, setting the photo down, and walking downstairs to fix herself some dinner. Her mom wasn't home. Late night work, her boss called her in for some extra hours.

Her heart began racing when she heard faint footsteps outside of her house. There was a rustling around the trees and the bushes, and suddenly, Emily realized that she definitely wasn't alone. She set down her macaroni and cheese dinner, and rushed to the peep hole for her door, glancing through it. At first, nobody was in sight. It was a clear driveway, with nothing but the rain making a sound, pattering all over the street. She swallowed hard, deciding to let the noise she thought she heard go, and to just go back to eating her dinner. But her instincts told her to take one more glance. So she did.

And she caught a glimpse of a girl in a sweater and tight leggings, running away. The blonde hair that flowed to the middle of her back... Emily's heart was telling her that the girl wasn't just any blonde. So, she got the guts to open her door.

"Ali!" she called. "Is that you?"

The blonde turned around, her mouth widening. She seemed speechless. Her hair was soaking wet, and so was her sweater, as well as her leggings. Emily didn't even know why, but she ran outside of her house to confront Alison.

"What are you doing here in the pouring rain?" Emily asked, her eyes widening.

"I walked here because—" Alison began.

"You walked here? Why!?" Emily cried. "You can't walk back. It's pouring outside right now. I'll give you a ride home."

"Wait," Alison said, grabbing the dark haired girl's arm. "Why are you so nice to me? I just... I just broke your heart."

Emily stared at the floor before saying, "I don't know, but... but I guess I just haven't ever fallen out of love with you. Even when you're horrible to me, I can't seem to forget about you."

Alison gazed at her with the most sincere look Emily had ever seen.

"When I was away, there wasn't a moment that I didn't think about you," Alison told her, staring at the floor. "Em, I came here for a reason. And that reason is because I owe it to you to explain myself. To explain everything. How I feel."

"I think you made it pretty clear earlier—" Emily began.

"No, that wasn't honest," Alison stopped her. "I'm afraid of this. I've never... never in my life... loved anybody the way I love you. Everybody thinks I'm straight. And I wanted to believe that I am, but everyday, you're on my mind, and it's always not in a friend way. I was stupid to say that to you earlier. You don't deserve that for being such a good person. You probably don't want to hear this now, but I love you. I know I screwed up, I know it's too late. But you need to know that I love you." Alison began to turn away.

Emily grabbed her arm and pulled her back, slamming her lips against Alison's. Her hands got tangled in the girl's blonde hair. Alison didn't even fight it. She wanted to kiss back, even if it was in the middle of the street. The rain attacked their hair, soaking it even more. They started going backwards, entering Emily's house, getting out of the rain. It was too late, though. Their clothes were already wet.

That wasn't a problem, though. The girls made their way up to Emily's bedroom, lips locked, and their clothes were discarded along the way. Their breaths became heavy. Alison practically dominated Emily on the bed, hovering over her. Both the girls were clad in their lingerie. Emily's fingers twirled around the fabric of Alison's sexy lace panties. Her tan hands made their way up to the clasp of Alison's bra, unhooking it.

"Are you sure?" Alison asked, feeling the hook come off of her bra.

"Yes," she simply responded, gazing into Alison's deep blue eyes.

"Em, have you ever done this with anyone before?" Alison asked curiously, running her hands down the girl's gorgeous body.

"No. But I've never wanted to until now," Emily told her, wrapped her legs around the blonde's waist, and then let go of her hold on the clasp of Alison's bra, allowing it to fall on the bed. She glanced up at Alison's tightening breasts.

Alison's hands tucked underneath Emily's body, unclasping the other girl's bra, and then yanking it out from under. Emily's arms covered her own breasts, still feeling slightly insecure about being completely naked.

"You don't have to do that," Alison told her, and leaned forward. She gently moved Emily's hands away. "You have nothing to be ashamed of." A surge of confidence rushed through the darker girl, as Alison dragged her tongue across her left breast. Her teeth clenched her nipple, making Emily's toes curl. She had never felt such a sensation run through her body.

Alison dragged her tongue down the girl's body, leaving a trail of spit as she went down. Finally, she reached the entrance to Emily's southern regions. Smirking, she dragged her underwear down her legs, and ducked her head. Her tongue met Emily's clit, diving inside. The sensations in Emily grew. Her fingernails scratched down against Alison's back. Her breathing was growing heavier as Alison worked her magic. She had never felt anything like this before.

And it was like music to Alison's ears. She loved the sound of Emily moaning and being pleased. She loved the way Emily's wetness felt against her tongue. It was all too good.

"Shit, Em, you're so wet," Alison mumbled, backing up, and licking her lips.

Emily blushed, but Alison relaxed her again, and began rubbing her fingers against Emily's clit instead. Unable to control herself any longer, she climaxed for the very first time in her life. Alison's heart was beating as she watched. She never thought she would be the one to take Emily's virginity, but she was, and she was happy about it. She didn't want Emily sleeping with anybody else.

Emily dragged the blonde's panties down, and then pressed their bodies together. Her lips touched Alison's again, for a hungry kids, and her desire only built up more when their lips touched. She loved the feeling of Alison's naked body against hers. She felt so close to her at that moment. Their breasts were pressed against each other as their lips constantly came to contact.

All Emily could think was that she couldn't have had a better first time. Everyone always said their first time having sex was messy and scary, maybe even a little bit painful. But her night with Alison was nothing but lustful, perfect, and pleasing.

...

"A movie first date?"

"Aw, man. You don't like it, do you?" Toby asked, scratching his head. "Look, Margaret, we can go somewhere else, if you want. I don't mind."

"No, it's ok," Margaret said, smiling sweetly. "I don't care what we do. I'm just happy to be here with you." Margaret grabbed his hand and told him, "To be honest, we don't really need to be watching much of that movie, do we? You know what I mean?"

Toby felt his stomach drop. He didn't know if it was good or bad, but he was scared. Was Margaret hinting that she wanted to make out with him in the movies? They hadn't even had their first kiss yet! Hell, they were only on their first date!

"Why don't you go buy the tickets?" Toby suggested. "I'll go get us a large popcorn. Do you want a soda or some drink?"

"Coke is fine," Margaret responded, smiling at him. "I'll meet you outside."

Toby nodded his head, going to the concession stand to purchase the food for the movie. He sighed, handing the man the bill. He couldn't believe he was out on a date with another girl. Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and he was shocked to see that it was Spencer. Honestly, they didn't talk that much anymore. It had only been like a week since their break up, and they had promised to stay as close friends, but it wasn't exactly working out. They were still friends, but their level of closeness drastically dropped.

'Are you on your date with Margaret? Sorry to text... but I wanted to let you know that I'm ok with this, and I have a date with Andrew Campbell tomorrow.' -Spencer

'She's buying the tickets. I'm getting the food. And of course it's ok for you to text me at any time. We're friends now, right?' -Toby

'Of course.' -Spencer

'And I'm happy for you. It's really good that you got yourself a date.' -Toby

'Yeah, Andrew's really nice' -Spencer

'Well, I should probably get back to my date.' -Toby

'Mhm, have fun. Tell me how it was soon...' -Spencer

Honestly, he was dying to tell Spencer that he missed her. But he sighed, sucked it up, and bought the food. He met Margaret outside of the show room for the movie that they were seeing.

"Where do you want to sit?" Toby asked, putting his arm around Margaret.

She giggled and responded, "I think we should sit in the back. It's best."

"Ok, cool," he said, scratching his head, and leading her to a seat in the back. He knew why she wanted to sit way in the back. So no one could see them. There were a handful of other couples sitting in the back, probably all for the same reason.

The movie started playing, and they didn't talk for a lot of it. But Margaret didn't want to watch. That was clear. She kept tapping Toby throughout it. Halfway through the film, she just cupped Toby's cheeks randomly, and placed a kiss on his lips. He smiled, kissing her back, running his hands through her hair. It was good. He was comfortable with it now.

They started making out, and suddenly, all he saw was Spencer. Spencer in his mind. The feeling of Margaret's lips didn't compare. He couldn't enjoy it the way he enjoyed being with Spencer. At that moment, he knew the experimentation was over. No girl was ever going to be as good as Spencer damn Hastings. He was going to win her back.

When the movie ended, Margaret and Toby started to leave the theater.

"Good movie, right?" Margaret joked.

"Yeah," he responded. "My favorite part was the one where the pretty girl gave me a kiss."

Of course he wanted Spencer back, but he was still trying his hand at dating and flirting. He liked it, but he didn't love it the way he loved Spencer.

"Well, I think she can recap that for you," Margaret smirked, kissing him again.

...

Taylor Krauss, the hot blonde from math class.

Noel Kahn was fucking that girl. He rocked her body, pumping in and out of her entrance. When they both finished off, he re-dressed himself, waiting for her to leave.

"That was fun," Taylor commented, giving him a long kiss on the lips.

And Noel didn't want her to go. They had went on a date beforehand, and it was so good. She was funny. She was smart. She was pretty. Did he actually LIKE her? He couldn't believe it!

"Maybe you should go," Noel encouraged, not wanting to get too attached.

"Are you serious?" Taylor asked, raising her eyebrows. "I thought people were kidding when they said you were the kind of guy that hooks up with a girl and then leaves her!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Noel cried. "We had a date, we hooked up, so now what?"

"Um, I don't know... I was assuming that we continued whatever we have going on," Taylor said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe a girl shouldn't give you sex on the first date. Then you would learn to be patient. To like a girl. To actually fall for her. I should have known that I meant nothing to yo—"

"You do mean something to me," Noel confessed, and cupped her cheeks. "Taylor, I had the best time that I've ever had in a long time, and I'm afraid to admit it, but I like you. I have real feelings for you, and I don't know what this means!"

Taylor smiled and told him, "Well, I know the type of guy you are now, so that's not gonna work on me just yet. You're going to have to work for this if you really care about me."

"Dammit, are you trying to make me change my mind?" Noel asked.

"Ok, fine. If that's how you feel, then I'll just leave," Taylor said, smirking, since she knew he wouldn't want her to go.

"Wait!" Noel cried, grabbing her arm. "Alright, I'll work for it this time. Can I take you out for a date Sunday night? No sex, just one good ass date."

"Nope, I'm rejecting you," Taylor told him, kissing his forehead. "Sorry, Noel."

"What the fuck?" Noel groaned. "Come on!"

"Vulgar language," Taylor laughed. "You can't just ask me out on a date while we're in bed. You have to do it right. Ask me again some other time. I'll see you later, Kahn. Call me if you figure out how to be a gentleman, and we can think about going on that second date you have in mind."

Noel grinned to himself as he watched Taylor walk away. For once, he wanted to take a challenge, and he wanted to fight for the girl.

...

The next morning, Emily woke up with her body spooning Alison. She smiled, sitting up, and admiring the naked beauty in her bed. She kissed the girl's shoulder, before the blonde woke up, smiling. She was still a bit groggy from her sleep, but she leaned upwards and placed a chaste kiss on Emily's lips.

"Morning," she greeted warmly.

"Morning to you, too," Emily laughed. "That was an unexpected night, don't you think?"

Alison nodded her head and sat up.

"Crap!" Emily cried. "Ali, my mom probably got home last night. I have to sneak you out of here. She probably would have said something if she saw us, so... We better get you out of here before she really finds out."

"Mm, that's not the way I wanted to end this moment," Alison groaned, leaning closer and biting Emily's bottom lip. "Five minutes won't kill, hmm?"

"Ali," she whined, even though she was enjoying it. "We can't. Not now. Just call me... But not now. My mom can't know that you were here."

"I'll go through the window," Alison told her, getting out of bed, and putting her clothes on. She paused for a moment before saying, "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

Emily smiled, dressing herself as well. She stepped closer to Alison and said, "Just so you know, last night was perfect. I'm glad you came. Please, text me later. Maybe we can talk... I'm really glad you're back in Rosewood."

"And I'm glad to be back. You made coming home a lot better," Alison told her. "And yeah, last night was pretty much perfect." She smiled faintly, and then leaned closer to place one last kiss on Emily's lips. "Of course I'll text you. Later, Em."

"Don't hurt yourself," Emily warned as Alison climbed out the window.

Emily opened her bedroom door after Alison left, brushed her teeth, and walked downstairs. She heard the TV on, and she could smell her mother cooking breakfast. Things were perfect.

"Hey, mom," she greeted.

"Oh... hi, honey," Pam said, scratching her head. "You're up early."

"It's 10:00," Emily laughed.

"I know, I just thought—" Pam began, but stopped herself. "Never mind. Do you want some breakfast? I have eggs, and bacon, maybe some waffles."

"Eggs. But what is going on, mom?" Emily asked. "You're acting... strange."

"Emmy, I think it's time we talk," Pam said, seating herself and her daughter down.

"Ok, now I'm very, very confused," Emily sad.

"You know I know about your sexuality, and I accept it. I want you to be yourself. I'm glad you've come out, it's good," Pam told her. "We've had brief talks beforehand, but now you're at the real age. Em, I'm trying to be calm about this, but we need to talk about you being sexually active."

"What!?" Emily cried. "I'm not—"

"Don't," Pam stopped her. "Look, I went up to check on you after work. I got home late, so I wanted to make sure that you were home and ok. I went to your bedroom, and I saw you... with Alison. Frankly, I didn't even know she was back in town yet, but I was not expecting to see my daughter in bed with her."

"Mom!" Emily yelled.

"How long have you been doing this?" Pam asked.

"I'm not some school slut that sleeps with everybody in sight," Emily snapped. "It happened one time. Once."

"Ok, you clearly don't want to talk, and fine, I accept it. Please, just be safe, and don't do anything you don't want to do, or anything you're not ready to do," Pam advised.

Emily ran a hand through her hair, watching her mother walk away.

...

"Hey!" Spencer exclaimed, sitting down at the table in the restaurant.

"Hi there," Andrew Campbell greeted, grinning sweetly. "I'm glad you finally made it. You look great, by the way."

Spencer glanced down at her short, black dress before smiling back at him and saying, "Thank you. You look very handsome."

Andrew scratched his head and asked, "So, what do you want to order?"

"Um, I don't know. I'm going to wait for the menu to get here," Spencer said. "Actually, I'm going to run to the ladies' room first. Watch my purse?"

"Of course," he agreed.

She got up, heading towards the bathroom. Once she had finished up and washed her hands, and walked outside again, but then bumped into a hard chest.

"Toby!" she cried. "I—"

"S-Spence?" he mumbled.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey back," he returned, scratching his head.

"Are you out with Margaret again?" Spencer asked curiously.

"No, I'm not," he answered. "I'm here for a family dinner. Jenna got into some big music school over the summer, so we came out for a celebratory dinner. And I was not expecting to see you here. I didn't know that your date would be here, I swear. Are you here with Andrew?"

Spencer nodded and said, "Yeah, I am. Tell Jenna I said congratulations on her music school. That's really great for her. She's really good at playing the flute. I think I heard her in one of the school plays before, and she was amazing."

"Mhm, she's very talented," Toby agreed.

"You never told me how your first date with Margaret went," Spencer reminded. "Did you have a lot of fun?"

"Oh, right. Sorry," he apologized. "It was fun. We watched a movie together. She wasn't very interested in the movie, though. We still had a good time."

"Make-out movies?" Spencer half-joked, but she was pretty sure they were making out if they weren't watching the movie.

He faked a smile before saying, "Well, I'm going to wash my hands. I should probably get back to my family soon. It was... good to see you again. I hope you have fun on your date. Clue me in on how it went... pal." He awkwardly scratched his head before entering the men's room.

Spencer didn't even know why, but her heart was racing. It definitely was an unexpected encounter. She sighed, making her way back to her table with Andrew.

"You're back," Andrew said with a smile. "The menus are here."

...

Hanna kept checking her phone to see if Caleb had left some sort of message, but he hadn't. She was beginning to get worried. What if he had gotten arrested for that murder he didn't commit? What if something happened with his family? She found it less likely that he was arrested, because it would have been the talk of the town by now. Any news created a big buzz in Rosewood, since it was a small town. And a teen getting arrested for murder was definitely something that would have buzzed around. People loved to talk about other people in Rosewood. But she was still worried, even if he hadn't been arrested.

"One latte, please," Hanna ordered at the counter, and handed the man working her five dollar bill. "Thank you."

She waited patiently as her latte was made, and smiled when he handed her the latte, as well as her change. She turned around, walking towards the door, since she was planning on taking this to-go. Then, she none other than Caleb Rivers standing at the door.

"Caleb!" she cried, running over to him. "What happened? You suddenly just fell off—"

"I don't think we should be talking anymore," Caleb cut her off.

"What? Did something happen with your family?" Hanna asked. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Look!" Caleb practically yelled. "You have a really good boyfriend, and I don't think hanging around me is a good idea anymore. I'm bad for you, and I don't think us having a friendship is a good idea, either. So, maybe we should just stop. I know I asked you to hang out, but that needs to change. We can't anymore. Let's just pretend this friendship never began, ok? We need some distancing between us. You should spend more time with Sean."

"Sean?" Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "I have plenty of time for him! Why do you care about that? I can still be friends with you. You're acting like you're ruining my life."

"Hanna, please," Caleb said, shaking his head. "Forget about it. Go."

"Fuck you," she snapped, storming out of the Brew.

...


	8. Chapter 8

**ROSEWOOD  
**CHAPTER 8

SYNOPSIS: Bianca seeks forgiveness from Spencer for meddling with her relationship, but Spencer has bigger problems: she can't help but feel jealous when Toby and Margaret are flaunting their new relationship around school. However, this presents an opportunity for Bianca to regain her friendship with Spencer by helping Spencer and Toby get back together. Noel is trying to figure out how to ask Taylor out. Bret needs an opportunity to get closure on his relationship with Lauren, and give her the best apology he can, but with her now spending an increasing amount of time with Devon, he finds it extremely difficult. Meanwhile, Emily is in bliss as she enjoys the perks of her stimulating romance with Alison, which is still in its honeymoon phase. Aria awaits and receives Ezra's response to her confession about the kiss with Holden. Caleb's distance from Hanna makes him long for her more, and he begins to wonder if there was ever a possibility for romance between them. However, his jealousy grows when he is forced to see Hanna and Sean together. Sean is finally ready to take his relationship with Hanna to the next level. Also, Paige tries to understand why Emily doesn't want to be around her anymore.

* * *

"Hey, Spencer-" Bianca began.

"_Shh_," Spencer shushed, holding a finger to the girl's mouth.

"You're so mad at me that you're going to shush me?" Bianca asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Jesus, no!" Spencer cried, groaning. She stopped scanning the cafeteria, and sighed. "I saw Toby and his new girl Margaret walking together, and I was trying to examine their body language to see if they're officially a couple."

Bianca raised her eyebrows now.

"So, you're stalking your ex-boyfriend?" she teased.

"I'm not stalking him! I just want to see how quickly he's moving with Margaret. Have you forgotten that I'm moving towards a relationship with the amazing Andrew?" Spencer said proudly. "Crap... I almost forgot that I'm supposed to be pissed with you."

Bianca groaned.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten," she sighed.

"Well, I _didn't_. I was preoccupied with my relationship troubles. And luckily for you, this break up was mutual, and wasn't the one your stupid meddling caused. If that was the case, I would behead you like Charles V had his second wife beheaded."

"European history references," Bianca acknowledged. "While that's pretty scary, I really want to make it up to you. What I did was so dumb and out of jealousy-"

"I know, and I should probably care more, but right now, I'm a lot more concerned with the fact that Toby and Margaret might be an official item!" Spencer cried, and walked away from Bianca before she had a chance to speak.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Fitz," Aria greeted weakly while she was passing Ezra in the hallway. She looked at him nervously, and he barely looked back. He offered her the most awkward acknowledging nod, which only sank her heart more. He was obviously really upset about what she did, and he had every right to be! She made a huge mistake, and she didn't know how to fix it. She could only tell Ezra that she loved him so many times before it lost its effect. It was true, though. She did love him. She screwed up, but she loved him a lot.

"Damn, Fitzy's still being ice cold to you?" Hanna asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I did mess up pretty badly," Aria sighed. "I can't take his silence. It really, really sucks. I feel like I should just go up to him myself and talk to him."

"He's still your boyfriend until he breaks up with you officially, if he does. It's your right to ask him. He can't keep you hanging like this. Either he breaks up with you, or he lets it go," Hanna advised.

"Wow, that was actually good advice," Aria smiled. "I'm going to talk to him. Waiting isn't an option for me anymore."

"Good, because my baby just got here!" Hanna exclaimed as Sean walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a more than passionate kiss. His tongue snuck into her mouth devilishly, and his hands lowered to her ass. "Sean, mm!" she moaned quietly into his mouth. Aria's jaw nearly fell off watching the way they kissed. It was a combination of disgusting and sensual, but she didn't know which to classify it as. She shook it off, and turned the other way, walking back towards Ezra's classroom.

The school day was over, so she was waiting for the fleet of students asking essay and homework questions to leave so she could have her personal time with him. Once they were all gone, she entered his classroom nervously. She hated being so nervous to see her own boyfriend, even though she knew it was her fault for what happened with Holden.

"Hi..." she mumbled nervously. "Can we please talk? It's killing me."

"Miss Montgomery, I don't think it is the best idea if we talk during my office hours. I'm working," he told her, trying his hardest to avoid having a conversation about their relationship at this time.

"Cut it out, Ezra. I can't do this waiting game anymore. I know I screwed up terribly. I get it! But you still can't keep me waiting like this. It's killing me a lot, and I need to know where we stand," she said, approaching his desk. "I love you. You know that."

"And I love you, too, Aria, but this isn't easy for me!" he almost yelled. "It hurts me _more _to know that I wasn't satisfying enough that you had to get a kiss from another guy to please you. I wasn't enough for you. Will I ever be?"

"Hey, stop it!" she warned, taking both of his hands into hers. "You_ are _enough for me. You're everything I want and more."

"Then why doesn't it feel that way?" he demanded, letting go of her hands and running his hands through his hair. "If you had a problem with how you'll have to wait for us to go public, then you should have just said something to _me_, your boyfriend, instead of running off and kissing another guy for comfort. That's not how relationships work."

"I made a mistake. A horrible, stupid mistake. I would do anything to take it back, believe me," she begged. "I do love you, Ezra. I'm willing to communicate with all of our problems. You're supposed to be my forever."

Tears were threatening to come out of Ezra's eyes. He loved this girl so much, but what she did was the worst thing. It stung his heart badly- he didn't know if it was something he would be able to get over.

"How can we ever go back to what we were?" Ezra asked, sighing. "You kissed another guy. No matter how much you want to take what you did back, you can't. It happened. That kiss happened, Aria. It feels very real to me, and it hurts so fucking bad."

"I know," Aria sobbed. "I know what I did to you. But I really... I really do wish I didn't do it. You have to believe me."

"And I do," he sighed. "But maybe this is about more than the kiss. I'm not always going to be able to satisfy you completely. I've made you wait. You shouldn't have had to wait in a normal relationship, but we're not normal. I'll never be able to give you normal. And I can't sit around knowing that you might be lip locking another guy just because I didn't satisfy you. This is about trust. The trust we had has been broken. I trusted you so much, but it's not the same anymore. How do I even know if I'm making you happy anymore?"

"You are. I'm the happiest and the luckiest to be with a guy like you. I took it for granted in that moment of weakness, and it will never happen again if you give me another chance," Aria told him. "You're the one that makes me happy, Ezra. You should know that. If you forgive me, I can spend as much time as possible rebuilding that trust between us. I will do whatever it takes to have that trust again."

Ezra was staring down, but Aria took this as her chance. She cupped Ezra's cheeks and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. Their lips were touching, and it felt so right. Everything about them felt so right, even though it was supposed to feel wrong after what she did to him.

"The love is still there, and it always will be," she told him.

"I can't let you go," Ezra admitted sheepishly, his heart pounding like a fool after that kiss. "I just can't."

Aria smiled.

"Does this mean you-" she began.

He cut her off with a short kiss.

"Yes," he responded. "Yes it does."

* * *

"Mm," Emily Fields moaned. Her breaths were growing heavier, and her hand was reaching further back, moving towards her pillow. "Ali," she moaned between kisses. "Ali, come on... my mom's going to be home at any moment."

"This won't take long, considering how turned on you are right now," the blonde teased.

"She already knows about the first time, and I don't need her walking in or something this time," Emily warned, and Alison finally released her. The blonde sat up.

"She knows?" Alison asked.

"Yeah," she nervously admitted. "But she won't tell, trust me. She has no interest in exposing what we did. She was just trying to be a... mom," she chuckled.

"Things are _so _good between us right now," Alison commented. "I like where we are."

"I do, too," Emily blushed.

Alison took her hand, lacing their fingers together.

"I like taking things slow," she revealed.

"Slow? You call _this _slow?" Emily teased.

"Oh, there's no way I wanna go slow in that area. I meant about... developing this thing. If we tell people, things are going to get complicated. For once in my life, I really don't want complicated," Alison explained. "I just want you and me to have something simple between us. Are you okay with that?"

"I don't want complicated, either. Simple is fun," Emily smiled. "And I now have an after school activity besides swimming that I like _a lot_."

"Hmm, really? You'll need some more practice to get good at this activity," Alison flirted teasingly, and then pecked the brunette's lips. She was about to kiss more passionately, but the sound of the garage door opening cut them off. "Dammit, does this mean we have to revert to more PG activities? Sad."

"Very sad," Emily agreed, laughing. "We could watch a movie, or talk-"

"We spent too much time doing that when we were just friends," Alison said. "I like to make up for the lost years. All the time we didn't get to be together like this."

"We still have our future and our present. Stop worrying about the past," Emily told her.

"It still amazes me how you were able to forgive me," she said, looking up into the other girl's brown eyes.

"How can I stay mad when you look at me like that?" Emily mumbled out in a raspy voice, leaning closer. Her lips were inching towards Alison's. Both girls were sitting up on Emily's bed now, their arms tangled in each other, and their lips so close to a kiss.

Of course, cutting them off was Emily's mother entering. They quickly pulled back from each other.

"Oh," Pam blushed when she walked into the room. "Emmy, I didn't know Alison was coming over today."

"It was more of a surprise visit. Sorry I didn't tell you, Mom," Emily scratched her head.

"No worries," Pam said, but she _was _worried about her daughter hanging out with the girl she had just slept with recently. "It's great to have you back in town, Alison. Are Jason and your parents excited to have you back?"

"Hopefully," Alison laughed. "It's good to see you, too, Mrs. Fields."

Pam smiled at the girls.

"I'm going to start cooking dinner. You're welcome to join us tonight if you'd like," Pam offered.

"I'll consider it. Thank you," she said sweetly.

"Any time, sweetie," Pam said, and then walked to the door. "I'm just going to leave this open..." she told them, and left the door open when she walked away.

"She's certainly taking some precautions to stop us from hooking up," Alison scoffed. "She can't stop me, can she?"

"You tell me. Do you feel restricted?" Emily joked.

Alison rolled her eyes playfully, an then pulled Emily in for a short kiss.

"That felt too short. I guess we are restricted," Emily sighed in a mock-sad tone.

"Oh, really?" Alison laughed. "How's this?"

She leaned back in, cupping both of Emily's cheeks, and then pulling the much taller girl onto her lap. Emily straddled the blonde's hips, running her hands through her cascade of hair. Both their eyes were shut, feeling the moment of their lips moving together.

* * *

The next day at school, Bret sat all alone at a separate table. He decided that it was best not to sit with his normal group anymore after what he did to Lauren. He couldn't help but watch his beautiful ex-girlfriend sitting at her table. He still loved her, obviously. He couldn't believe how badly he had fucked up. Sienna was a nice girl, but she was _not _worth losing the best thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn't understand his own actions. Why would he cheat on _Lauren Ross_?

Breaking his trail of thoughts was Noel Kahn sitting down.

"N-Noel! You surprised me," Bret confessed. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting with you. I mean, you are a jackass, but I decided to spare you the loneliness. It probably sucks being exiled from the table," Noel chuckled.

"I'm not exiled!" Bret argued. "I made the choice to sit here by myself. I did it for Lauren."

"Well, you better stop doing stuff for Lauren if your motive is to win her back. She's never going to forgive you or take you back," Noel warned. "If you're lucky enough, maybe you can become friends again by the end of the year."

Bret stared at her sadly.

"Shouldn't you be at that table hitting on Aria or something?" Bret asked.

"Nah, I decided to keep my distance from her romantically. We're friends, she has a boyfriend, and I'm totally crazy about another girl," Noel revealed with a grin.

"Whoa... back up! You like somebody new?" Bret asked. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"Taylor," Noel answered, still grinning wide.

"You and Taylor Krauss? Dude, you're out of line. She's never gonna go for you," Bret scoffed.

"But she already did," Noel smirked. "We hooked up a little while ago. Now I'm actually thinkin' about asking her out."

"You better cool this egomaniac attitude. She's not going to date a douchebag. She only dates nice guys. She's rejected every single one of those dickface athletic guys that have asked her out. Oh, and here comes you, another dickface athletic guy," Bret chuckled.

"Says the guy that cheated on his longtime girlfriend," Noel rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for reminding me about what a shitty person I am," Bret muttered.

"You're welcome. You do deserve to be reminded, though. As a good friend, I have to keep you from making the same stupid mistake again," Noel said.

"I would never, ever make that horrible mistake again!" Bret cried. "I just wish Lauren could know that."

"But she can't. How can she ever trust you again?" Noel reminded.

* * *

"Hey, guys. Where's Toby?" Spencer asked when she sat down at the table with her friends.

"He's not sitting with us today," Hanna answered.

A slight bit of nervousness came to Spencer. If he wasn't sitting with them, there was another possibility she was fearing.

"Why isn't he?" she asked.

"Margaret asked him to come sit with her," Hanna answered again. "Jealous, Spencer?"

"No way. Things are moving positively with Andrew. I'm happy for Toby, honestly. I want him to be in a good relationship, and if Margaret makes him as happy as possible, then I encourage it by all means," Spencer explained, but she knew she was just lying to herself. Her friends knew she wasn't being as honest as she was claiming to be, either. Of course they knew she meant it when she said she wanted Toby to be happy, but they knew she really didn't want him to be with Margaret.

"We can talk about Toby at any time. I have to tell you guys something," Emily announced, biting her lip. "It's about Alison DiLaurentis."

"Alison?" Aria laughed. "I haven't talked about her in forever."

"Yeah, well, she's back in Rosewood, if you didn't already know," Emily told them. "She moved back, and she's coming to school next Monday."

"Wow, seriously?" Hanna asked, her eyebrows raising. "Things are going to be different with her back, aren't they? I can barely remember the time when she was actually here, going to school with us."

"It should be fun!" Emily exclaimed. "Our old group can be reunited."

"Clearly you've reunited your friendship with her, but I don't think the rest of us are also going to be jumping back into her arms, Em. We have to admit, she wasn't the nicest person or the greatest friend," Spencer reminded.

"Boarding school must have changed her. She's really wonderful now," Emily said.

"Yeah, but you always were fond of her," Aria reminded. "I'm pretty sure she favored you over the rest of us."

Cutting off their discussion was Bianca quickly walking up to their table.

"Spencer!" she called. "Can I talk to you?"

Spencer groaned.

"About what, Bianca?" Spencer asked, rolling her eyes. "Do you want to mess up the next romantic relationship I have, too? Do you want to randomly crush on Andrew now that I have something going on with him?"

Bianca ignored her, and continued.

"This is important, and I think you'll want to hear what I have to say," Bianca told her.

Spencer sighed, getting up from the table while her friends watched her leave. She followed Bianca outside of the cafeteria, stopping in the hallway, where almost no one else was.

"What do you want?" Spencer demanded.

"I can help you get Toby back," Bianca explained.

Spencer rolled her eyes.

"I don't need your help-" she began.

"Just hear me out," Bianca pleaded. "When I came to this school, I was lucky to become friends with you guys, and I really, really regret fucking that up. I just want to make things right again with you. I don't know why I decided to mess up what you had with Toby. And I know the second break up wasn't my fault, but I still want to help. I know you love Toby, and I know seeing him with Margaret is killing you. If there's anything I'm actually good at, it's meddling with relationships. If you don't want Margaret to be with him, then I can help you."

Spencer's facial expression fell.

"Of course I don't want him to be with her, but are you seriously proposing that we try and sabotage what he has with her?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "He's... really important to me. I'm not going to mess it up if he's happy with her."

"You know he'd be much happier with you again. He probably just thinks you're so crazy about Andrew now," Bianca pointed out.

"Look, I'm not going out of my way to destroy my ex's relationship, especially when he and I are actually friends, too," Spencer argued.

"Think about it. If you change your mind, I'm always gonna be here, ready to blow them up," Bianca smirked.

* * *

"Hello, lovely girl," Sean greeted pleasantly, placing a chaste kiss on Hanna's lips. "Got any plans for tonight?"

"Not that I know of," Hanna responded, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. "Why? Would you like to change that?" she giggled lightly.

"I would love to change that," Sean chuckled, and then pulled her in for another kiss.

He gently pushed Hanna against the brick wall of the high school, and they both tried not to laugh as they continued to kiss. Sean's tongue slowly pushed into Hanna's mouth. His hands reached for her ass, squeezing it roughly. Her hands looped around Sean's neck. He pushed her further against the wall, deepening their make-out session. Suddenly, Hanna pulled back. Sean gave her a confused look, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering where the sudden fire is coming from," Hanna revealed.

"Sudden fire? I thought I always kissed you like this. I mean, maybe all the experience from you has developed my kissing skills," he joked.

"No, I mean. It feels like it's... going somewhere, more than just kissing," Hanna confessed.

"Oh," Sean mumbled. "Well, I've been thinking about our relationship, so... yeah. I'm ready, Hanna."

"For sex?" Hanna asked, her eyes widening. "Seriously? Sean, I thought you said your religion, and abstinence-"

"I know what I said. And yes, my religion is important to me, but I don't believe that sex is a bad thing. And I love you," he told her. "I love you a lot. I've kept you waiting long enough. You said you want to do it, and now, I want to do it, too."

Hanna grinned and hugged Sean.

"You're sure you're ready, right?" Hanna asked. "I mean, I've never done this before, either, but I've wanted to do it with you for so long. I love you, too."

"Yeah," he agreed, grinning right back. "It's you, Hanna. I'm ready because it's you. I'm not ready for anyone else. Just you."

Hanna pecked his lips quickly.

"Well, about those plans for tonight," she began suggestively. "My mom's on a business trip, so I have the whole house to myself for the weekend, and that includes today. Do you want to swing by around eight?"

"Hell yeah," Sean nodded his head. "Trust me, I have big plans for this. I want it to be so special, and so perfect."

Hanna laughed again.

"I can't wait to see what you have in mind!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, you _won't _be disappointed," Sean promised her, and then ran off to his car to prepare for the night.

Little did Hanna know, Caleb had been sitting in his car, and he heard the whole thing. It sucked for him. He had screwed things up with Hanna because he was afraid of what Sean would do to him. And it made him think: what if there really was something between himself and Hanna? He had been so afraid of ever falling for her because Sean and his crew could kick his ass at any point. But what if there was a reason Sean was so defensive about him instead of all the other guys Hanna talked to in school? Hanna seemed so happy around him. He couldn't help but wonder if they ever could have been anything more than friends.

But it sucked that he would never get to find out.

* * *

Noel went to the Rosewood Convenience Store just to get everything he needed for a big romantic gesture for Taylor Krauss. It had to be perfect, that was all he knew. He was planning on going classic romantic to ask her out on a date: flowers, chocolate, and romantic words about how wonderful she was. He was excited for this. It was different. He couldn't remember the last time he'd asked a girl out for real. It had always been something about coming over at a later hour so he could hook up with them. And of course, he had already hooked up with Taylor somehow (she usually didn't go for flings or one night stands, but she was feeling a bit too aroused all alone at night, and Noel happened to call her up). But he had never asked one of his prior hook-ups out on a date. The usual was getting them out of his house, and then never calling them again unless he wanted another night of pleasure.

Taylor was different. He was really surprised by what a challenge she was. She wasn't easy like other girls. He may have gotten in her pants once, but that was merely a moment of weakness for her.

His phone started ringing while he was out shopping for Taylor, and unfortunately, it was Bret, who had been getting on his nerves lately. The dude had cheated on his girlfriend and then continued to complain about how sad his life was without her, and how terrible it was that their friends were upset with him, too.

"Uh, hey, buddy. What's up?" Noel asked over the phone.

"Thank God you answered!" Bret cried. "I'm so fucking... sad. All I can think about is Lauren, man."

"Jesus Christ, you made a stupid mistake. It was really dumb. Stop beating yourself up and accept the consequences. You made a wrong choice," Noel reminded.

"I know, and I hate myself for it," Bret moaned sadly. "Where are you? I hear people talking! You're not partying secretly without me, right?"

"No, Bret," Noel replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm at the store. I'm picking a few romantic things out for when I ask Taylor out."

"That's so sweet!" Bret exclaimed. "Dammit, I miss love! I miss being with Lauren, and buying her romantic gifts-"

"Bro, I know things ended on a sour note with Lauren for obvious reasons, AKA your jackass move of cheating on her, but obviously that break up didn't give you the right closure to your relationship. I think you should go find her and talk to her, apologize, and get the closure on your relationship that you oh-so desperately need," Noel advised.

"I miss the sound of her voice, so I like that plan," Bret said, perking up. "Thanks, Kahn. I'm gonna go find Lauren."

"Yeah.. no problem, B," Noel chuckled, and then hung up the phone.

* * *

"So, then I made the record time for the championship meet, and the coach was so impressed that he offered me the position of team captain.. so now I'm that," Emily explained with a perky smile.

"I wish I didn't miss all that," Alison commented sadly, leaning her head on Emily's shoulder.

The two were tangled together on the floor of Emily's bedroom. A movie was playing that neither of them was paying attention to, as they much preferred to talk about how their lives were while they were separated from each other, and even sneak in a few short kisses here and there.

"You know, I'm actually happy with everything that happened. Time apart brought us to where we are now. I'm happy. I'm exactly where I want to be," Emily quietly said, gazing into her piercing blue eyes. It felt like the right time to tell her how much she was still in love with her, but she couldn't do it. She didn't want to risk ruining what they had because she said it so soon, although she had already told Alison years ago. But that was a different time. She didn't know if Alison was in love with her.

"I can always come to one of your meets and watch you swim. I'm sort of excited to go back to public school," Alison told her with a smile. "Watching you swim would be... incredibly sexy." The blonde giggled adorably, causing Emily to smile even more.

"I would love if you came to one of my meets!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Then I will. I'll come to your next one," Ali said with a smile, reaching for the swimmer's hand. "Do you think I would miss out on the opportunity to see you in a tight, skimpy swimsuit with water dripping down your gorgeous legs? Don't think so."

A blush appeared on her face.

"Aw! You're blushing!" Alison laughed.

"Shut up," Emily laughed as well, putting a hand on her own cheek, which was heating up.

Their playful conversation was cut off by the sound of Emily's phone.

"Who is it?" Alison asked while the other girl picked her phone up from beside her.

Emily scratched her head.

"Nobody important," she responded.

"Hmm, is it your other secret lover on the down low?" Alison joked. She snatched her phone, and then read the text. Emily didn't protest. It was either to just let her read it than to say it out loud. "Paige McCullers. Why the hell is she texting you?" The blonde's eyebrows furrowed. "Apparently she's worried about how you haven't been responding to her."

"That probably sounds worse than it really is."

"No... this isn't a commitment think. I never asked you to be committed to me," the blonde reminded.

"Still. You shouldn't have to tell me that," Emily said. She cupped the other girl's cheeks. "I'm not seeing her."

Alison wasn't used to this. She wasn't used to being in some weird gray area of a relationship with Emily.

"What is she?" Alison asked in a barely audible voice.

"Just a friend," Emily assured her. "She _was _something. But she's nothing now. I guess she still thinks there's something between us. But trust me, Ali, I don't want to be with her. I told you I'm happy with where I am right now. I'm happy with _you_."

The blonde smiled at her assurance, and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

"You had me worried there for a second," Alison nervously giggled. "I'm not used to this, I'm sorry..."

A moment of realization hit Emily: she ended things with Paige because she wanted to hide their relationship, but Alison wanted the same thing. She didn't want the public to know they were together yet, if ever. But Emily didn't feel like she should end things with Alison, it was so weird. She couldn't understand how somebody had such a strong effect on her, even after years of being separated.

"Ali..." she mumbled out, "How long are we going to be like this?"

"What?"

"How long are we going to hide and only meet after school, not tell anyone about what we are?" Emily asked.

"To be fair, I don't really have many people to tell right now. Most people don't even know I'm back in Rosewood yet," Alison answered.

"I'm not joking," Emily told her. "I know we want to take it slow, but I don't want to not be able to touch you in public. I don't want to never be able to call you anything more than... whatever the hell we even are right now."

"I thought we were just going to enjoy the moment for now," she said nervously.

"We _are_," Emily insisted.

"It doesn't feel like you're enjoying it too much right now..."

"Look, I love being with you. I don't mind not telling people about us at first, but_ how_ long?" Emily asked.

"I swear, I'm not going to make you wait an eternity for us to move past where we are right now," Ali assured her. "I like to figure things out as we go. Can't we just enjoy what we are right now instead of trying to ruin the magic?"

Emily smiled weakly.

"You're important to me, Em," Alison told her. "I'm not going to mess this up like I did last time. We can worry about this when Monday comes. For now, I just really want to be with you, and have a good time."

Her smile turned realer. She leaned in, gently kissing Alison again.

"Okay," she agreed. "Tell me more about your insane boarding school life."

The blonde laughed.

"Of course."

* * *

Aria knocked on the door of her boyfriend's apartment. He came to open the door, smiling when he saw her.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "What do you have there?"

"I brought us..." she began, and then flipped the box open. "Some pie, from Paula's Bakery."

"Wow, it looks amazing," he commented, grinning. "I'll get some plates."

She entered his apartment building, placing the pie box on his glass table. He grabbed two plates from the kitchen cabinet and set them down on the table as well. The two of them sat down on his couch together.

"So, um, where have you been all afternoon?" Ezra asked curiously.

"I hung out with some friends," she responded. "Then I went to buy some pie before I came here."

"Friends, huh? Who?" he asked.

Aria furrowed her eyebrows.

"Does it matter?" she asked him.

"No, no.. I was just trying to make conversation," he lied, chuckling. "_Wow_. This pie looks good. Let's hope it tastes half as good as it looks."

"Trust me, Paula's Bakery makes the best pies I've ever tasted," Aria told him with a huge smile on her face.

He didn't seem convinced by her word.

"I'll let my tastebuds be the judge of that," he said, using a fork to cut a piece of the pie.

"Ezra," she said, glancing over at him.

"Yeah, babe?" he said with a smile, putting his arm around her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she responded. "How's the pie?"

He chuckled, putting the first piece into his mouth. A smile appeared on his face.

"Man, it's better than I thought it would be," he confessed, licking his lips. "We should do pie days more often!"

Aria nodded her head. She was about to respond when her phone buzzed. Ezra's complete attention turned to her, and he tried to get a look at her phone so he could see who was texting her, but she held it close enough to her face that he couldn't see the screen. She smiled when she read the text message, letting out a quiet laugh, heightening Ezra's curiosity by a lot. He couldn't help but wonder if she was texting some cute teenage boy from school...

"What's so funny?" he asked. "Who's texting you?"

"My friend," she responded.

"Well, I figured they're your friend," he said, rolling his eyes. "Aria..."

She put her phone down, looking at him.

"Ezra, you never used to care when I texted my friends before," she told him.

"After what happened-" he began.

"I knew it. I knew you didn't really forgive me for kissing Holden," she said, sighing.

"Well, how can I!?" he cried. "It's going to take time for me to get over it."

She pursed her lips.

"I know.. but are you ever really going to get over it, or are you going to be interrogating me every time I hang out with a friend or text somebody while we're spending time together?" Aria asked, raising her eyebrows. "I made a mistake, but I need you to not jump when I talk to somebody. I was just texting Noel."

"Noel?" Ezra asked, his eyes widening.

"Ezra!" she cried. "You're ignoring my point and continuing to question me about who I'm talking to? Noel is my _friend_."

"But then again, Holden was also 'just your friend' when you allowed him to take you to homecoming and then kiss you," Ezra reminded.

"Answer me honestly. Are you ever really going to get over the kiss, or am I just fooling myself here?" Aria asked.

"I don't know," he responded. "What do you want me to say? Can you blame me for being worried about who you're talking to after you cheated on me?"

"I screwed up, I get it. But I can't keep being in a relationship where I'm reminded of the mistake I made. If we're going to be together, you're going to have to learn to forgive me, and trust me," she told him.

Ezra stared at the floor.

"Aria, I don't think I can do that," he admitted. "I made a mistake jumping back and staying with you. I was never okay with it to begin with, and I don't think I can ever be. I used to be able to picture us together in the future. Us getting married. Us having kids. But now, when I see that, all I can think about is remembering that my wife, the mother of my children, cheated on me once in our relationship. That's not something I want to think about. I don't think any amount of time can make me get over it."

She sighed and leaned in to peck Ezra's lips.

"I love you so much," she told him, holding back her tears.

"I love you, too," he whispered, hugging her.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Ezra..."

"Hey, it's okay," he told her, holding her tightly. "You can be with somebody who will give you a fresh start.. somebody who will be able to hold your hand in public."

"Ezra," she sobbed.

"I can't be in a relationship where I feel like this. I'm not okay with the kiss, Aria. I'm just not," he told her.

She nodded her head.

"I hate it, but I.. I get why."

* * *

"Okay, you can come in!" Sean exclaimed.

Hanna laughed.

"Thank you for keeping my own bedroom hostage for like twenty minutes," she said, slowly twisting the door knob. She opened the door. When she looked at her bedroom, it was completely romanticized. The lighting in the room was dim, only lit by an arrangement of candles all around the room. He had sprinkled rose petals all over the bedsheets, like the cliché thing to do, but it was so adorable it made her heart race.

"Oh God, Sean, it's... perfect," she commented, stepping closer to him. "Truly perfect, just like you."

"I told you this has to be special for you, Hanna," he said, kissing her slowly and gently, just the way he wanted it to be.

He picked Hanna up, carrying her bridal style to the bed, and set her down gently on the bed. She laughed as their lips connected again for another passionate kiss. His hands roamed freely through her blonde hair. He was on top of her. His lips left her mouth, and moved to kiss her neck instead.

"Mm," she moaned as his kisses on her neck grew heavier. She stopped him, "Sean, Sean, wait.."

"Yeah, Hanna Banana?" he asked with a grin, pulling back from her neck.

"I know this is totally terrible timing, but I really have been wanting to ask you if you know what happened with Caleb-" Hanna began.

"Hold on, _what_? We're about to have our first time, and you're thinking about Caleb Rivers?" Sean asked, raising his eyebrows. "That's ridiculous."

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "It's been, bugging me."

"You couldn't have asked earlier, or waited until later? It was just so important?" Sean rolled his eyes.

"That's not what it's like," she told him. "Come on-"

"I stopped that dickface from bothering you. It's done," he said. "Can we get back to where we were without further interruptions now?"

Hanna's eyes widened.

"We _could have_, but you _what_?" Hanna demanded. "Define 'stopping him from bothering me', because he was never bothering me to begin with. He was my friend, Sean, until you apparently stopped him from being my friend!"

"He likes you," Sean said, sighing. "I'm protecting what we have."

"How about some trust in me instead?" Hanna rolled her eyes. "I told you to lay off of him."

"I was doing what I thought was right!" Sean defended himself. "Are you actually mad at me now?"

"Hell yes I am!" she cried. "And I'm _so _not in the mood for this stupid thing anymore. Maybe you should just go home."

"Okay, so you're kicking me out because of him," Sean concluded. "You're picking Caleb over me."

"You're being ridiculous. You shouldn't have said anything to him, and you know it," Hanna told him. "Look Sean, you and I both know things have been going south. And I love you, but I don't love the way you acted. And the fact that you didn't tell me about what you did is even worse."

"I knew you'd get mad if you found out," he confessed.

"Well, look at me now! I'm not very happy either," she rolled her eyes.

"So, what? Are you going to break up with me or some shit because I told him to back off?" Sean said like it was crazy.

"It's so arrogant how you still don't think what you did was wrong. You have no right to tell me who I can and can't be friends with, and if you don't see that, then yeah, I am going to break up with you!" Hanna cried. "I'm done, Sean. We're done."

His nostrils flared.

"Are you _fucking _serious?" he demanded. "You're picking that _idiot _over me. He and his ugly long ass hair!"

"Go home," she told him. "Please."

His nostrils kept flaring as he jumped off of her bed. He grabbed his jacket from her chair, glancing back at her angrily. He was so pissed, it was almost scary. He stormed out of her bedroom without another word, slamming the door on his way out.

* * *

Bret Louis sighed heavily as he found himself on the front door of the Ross home. Yes, he drove himself over to Lauren's house. He took Noel's advice. He wasn't ever going to be able to rest until he got closure on his relationship with Lauren. He purchased some roses for her, and stopped at her house.

She opened the door, more than just shocked to see him.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly, about ready to slam the door in his face.

"Laur-" he began.

"_Don't_," she said harshly, a tear about to fall from her eye. "Don't call me that. What do you want, Bret?" Her voice felt so strained when she was forced to say his name.

"We need to talk," he urged. "I got you roses..."

"You think these crappy roses are going to fix everything?" she demanded, grabbing them from his hands. She threw them off to the side so they fell on the floor.

"Lauren, please," he begged. "I never wanted things to end this way."

"I'm not looking to talk to you. I have company over," she informed him.

"What? Who?" Bret asked. "Family friend?"

"No. _My _friend," she responded.

Just at the right moment, Devon Summers appeared in her doorway.

"Devon?" Bret said, shocked. "You're hanging out with Devon?"

"Yes, and you can go fuck yourself and leave me alone."

* * *

"This is insane, Bianca."

"Too bad! You didn't want to directly hurt Margaret, so this is what we're going to do."

"I feel ridiculous!"

"Well, you look hot."

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a tight, curve-hugging red dress that hung low enough for a part of her cleavage to be visible. She was wearing the brightest red lipstick she had that made her lips pop like never before. Her eye makeup was darker, and her heels were a matching shade of red, so sexy and classy. Her brown hair was curled perfectly. Bianca was about ready to change sexualities for her just looking at her when she was all dolled up like that.

"Is this really the way I want to get Toby back?" she asked herself.

Bianca responded instead, "If you have a better idea, feel free to suggest it."

"Tell Toby I miss him, I want him back, and we made a mistake when we broke up," she suggested.

"Hell no!" Bianca cried. "You can't show this kind of weakness."

Before she knew it, the two of them were driving to Toby's place. Nervously, she knocked on the door. Bianca was waiting back in the car, trying to give her signals to not be nervous and have confidence instead, but she was too focused on staring at the door and thinking of what to say to him when the door opened to look back and see what she was trying to say. When the door did open, he stood there in a plain white wife-beater and navy blue sweatpants. His hair was messy, and it looked like he'd just woken up, even though it was the evening, almost night.

"Spence..." he muttered, unable to take his eyes off of her. "What are you doing here.. like that?"

"Like what?" she smirked, even though she was nervous as hell on the inside.

"Spencer," he urged. "This isn't you."

Barely even a minute into her act, she broke down into tears. Without asking why just yet, Toby pulled her into a hug, holding her.

"I miss you," she sobbed.

"Then why are you dressed like that at my house?" he asked, chuckling quietly.

"This isn't funny!" she cried.

"Did you think dressing sexy was supposed to win me back?" he chuckled. "It _is _funny, actually."

"Toby, I.. Bianca gave me the weird idea that if I dressed like this I could, um..." she began, but found it difficult to complete her sentence.

"You could what? Seduce me?" he guessed.

Spencer blushed weakly. She looked down instead, unable to look at him anymore. It sounded so silly when her plan was said aloud. She came over to his house to seduce him? And the part where he had a new girlfriend wasn't even mentioned yet.

"You don't have to dress that way," he quietly said, reaching over to take Spencer's hand. "You don't need to. No matter what you wear, you're still doing way more than just seducing me, Spence. I think it's funny you did because I didn't need to see you like this to make me miss you even more than you miss me."

"What are you saying?" she asked, blushing again.

"I love you," he answered, and then pulled her into his house for real. He shut the door, which was very annoying to Bianca, because she wouldn't get to know how her plan ended. She sighed, continuing to wait in the car.

"What about Margaret?" she asked.

He laughed.

"Do you really think some random ass girl could ever replace you? Being apart from you was the right decision, because it only made me realize how much you mean to me. How much I can't live without you," he explained. "I can't.. I just can't be with anybody else, because all I ever do is think about you when I'm with her. I don't want to keep missing you anymore. I just need to be with you again."

At that moment, the two of them were grinning at each other so wide, their eyes locked in a heavy gaze. In one sudden moment of excitement, she practically jumped into his arms. He picked her up so she was straddled around his hips while they were standing up, and held her there while their lips met for the first time in quite a while. Long enough to make their hunger build up so immensely that the moment their lips connected again was like the remedy to every problem in their lives.

"I mean, you're beautiful all the time, but this dress _does_ add a certain factor of sexiness," he chuckled, and then went right in for her lips again.

* * *

Paige McCullers couldn't stop thinking about one girl all evening, and she knew she couldn't stop thinking about her until she got something to explain all her questions. Emily Fields had been ignoring her for a little too long now, and she was sick of it. She was too crazy about Emily to just forget about her. She was even willing to begin coming out of the closet, just if it meant she would get to be with Emily! She thought Emily would jump at the chance to be together publicly, but she didn't even seem one bit interested anymore.

So, she biked on over to the Fields' house, as she did the last time that ended terribly.

She parked her bike near the porch, and started walking to the doorway. Her hands reached out to form a weak knock, which was barely audible. Nobody had answered, so she wasn't sure if nobody was home, or nobody heard her knock. Too afraid to knock again out of the fear that she was pestering them, she decided she would call Emily instead.

When she called, it was answered too quickly. But nobody was talking _to _her.

Instead she just heard the sound of heavy breaths and lips smacking together, maybe even a few moans.. Her eyes widened at the sounds coming from the line. Clearly, Emily didn't intend to answer her phone. She was with some other whore! Fury rode through Paige. Either she was seriously hooking up with Ben Coogan, or she had found some other girl to hook up with already.

They were definitely home. Paige could see the lights from the window of Emily's bedroom. It wasn't sane of an idea, but she needed to peer through that window. She _needed _to find out who Emily's secret girl was.

She took a bobby pin from her hair and stuck it into the lock of the door, twisting just right so the lock popped open. She smiled to herself when she was able to get in. She was sticking to her window plan, though. It was an even worse idea to try and watch them through a crack in Emily's door. So, she entered the master bedroom, where Emily's mother slept (her father would, too, if he was back home visiting). She cracked open the window as quietly as she could, just in case Emily heard her. Well, clearly Emily wasn't listening too hard because she didn't hear the knock at the door...

It felt almost crazy to be crawling through the window in the master bedroom, about to spy on the girl she liked. It felt pretty creepy, too. She didn't want to qualify to be a stalker or anything like that.

And it was _extremely_ scary to be crawling out on the roof. She tried to remain calm as the crawled towards the window that screened Emily's bedroom. Even luckier for her, they had left the curtains down.

Peering inside, she saw them. She saw the girl Emily was rolling around on the floor with. Their lips were inseparable, and there were fits of giggles as they kissed. Their hands were running through each other's hair, sometimes even down each other's bodies. And she was almost certain the blonde that Emily had her mouth all over was none other than Alison DiLaurentis- a girl she didn't even _know _was back in town!

At that moment, the shock of the sight made her lose her grip on the roof, and she began to slip.

"Holy shit!" Paige cried as she lost her balance.

She wasn't ready to plummet off the roof to her death. Fortunately for her, she was able to get a grip on one of the roof tiles before she slipped off the platform. Unfortunately for her, her loud cry had gotten the attention of both the girls in Emily's bedroom. She tried to avoid making shameful eye contact, but Emily was already well on her way to the window. She cracked it open, pushing her head through the opening.

"Paige, what are you doing!?" Emily cried, her expression way beyond shocked.

"I'm sorry," she cracked out, about ready to cry.

"Get yourself down from there before you hurt yourself for real!" Emily cried in a worried tone. "Hang in there. I'm going to get a ladder."

Paige held onto the roof until Emily came with a ladder from her garage. She placed it there and helped her climb down. All of Paige's suspicions of the other girl being Alison were confirmed when she got down from the roof. Alison DiLaurentis was standing right behind Emily.

"Why?" Emily asked, sighing. "Why, Paige? Why would you climb on my roof? We shouldn't be having such a ridiculous conversation!"

"Maybe because you won't have any other conversation with me anymore!" Paige cried. "You've been ignoring me, Em, and you know it."

"Okay, so maybe I have. That doesn't explain why you climbed on my roof and watched me through my window. That is _not _okay with me," Emily told her in a much more stern voice. "And worst of all, you seriously could have hurt yourself if you fell."

"You accidentally answered my phone call somehow, and I heard... I heard you with another girl," Paige admitted shamefully. "I just needed to know who it was. You've been driving me crazy. You know how I feel about you."

"Paige..." Emily muttered.

"So, you're with Alison now?" Paige asked for confirmation. "That's the reason you've been so distant from me? You found another girl? Nice way of lying to me... telling me it was all about Ben."

"I wasn't with her when you asked me that, and I was still pissed at you for the whole hiding thing," Emily explained.

Paige didn't respond. She climbed on her bike.

"What are you doing, Paige?" Emily demanded.

"Going home," she answered angrily. "Go fuck your new girlfriend or something."

Emily sighed sadly as Paige biked away from her house. She turned back to Alison.

"Wow, that was a real mood killer," the blonde muttered. "Do you want to order Chinese or something?"

"That sounds pretty good right now."

* * *

Bret moped his way over to Noel's house instead, hoping he didn't have a girl over. He wasn't expecting Noel to have a girl over because he was apparently very dedicated to making this romance with Taylor Krauss work.

"B.. hey!" Noel exclaimed when he opened the door. "Did you talk to Lauren?"

"Yeah, and it was shit," Bret commented. "She's hanging out with Devon Summers now because apparently they're 'super close'. This sucks. Everybody is breaking up right now. I thought senior year would be when we all figured out exactly what we want, and have good things happen to us."

"You made the decision to cheat on her. I hope Sienna was worth it," Noel told him. "And what do you mean everybody is breaking up?"

Noel let Bret into his house, shutting the door behind them.

"Who else broke up, B?" Noel asked.

"Like everyone! Spencer and Toby broke up. Sean and Hanna just broke up today. Me and Lauren, of course. Jack and Paige.. Even Aria and her boyfriend broke up!" Bret cried.

"You can say his name. I figured out who it was," Noel told him. "And hold up, _what_? When did Sean and Hanna break up? And when did Aria and Fitz break up!?"

"Today," Bret answered. "Hanna called me in tears, I don't know why. I guess her other friends weren't picking up, so she settled for me, now that I'm stupidly desperate and lonely without Lauren.. she told me that everything sucks, and how she broke up with Sean. She didn't say why, though. Then she spilled that Aria had just informed her that she and Fitz broke up."

"Aria's... available," Noel breathed out.

"Dude, I thought you were over her," Bret said.

"I was trying to be, but only because she had a boyfriend that she said she loves!" Noel cried. "Do you know what this means? She's _single_. For real!"

"What about Taylor, and all the plans you had to ask her out?" Bret asked. "Are you really throwing that away because Aria's single? You don't even know if she'll be willing to date you. And after a break up, she's probably still depressed about it."

Noel sighed.

"All I know is that I've had feelings for Aria for so long. No matter how much I try and get over her, I know a part of me is always going to want to be with her," Noel confessed. "I really like Taylor, but I'm crazy about Aria. I have to take the chance if I have one. She might not be single for too long."

"Noel, seriously!?" Bret cried.

"Don't give me relationship advice after what you did in yours. If I want to take a chance on Aria, I'm going to," Noel told him. "Maybe these flowers won't be for Taylor after all."


End file.
